


Fairies and Shadows

by Aauron



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, Eventual Romance, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Horror, Mild Sexual Content, Mystery, Original Character(s), Slow Burn, Some Canon Relationships Too, non-canon relationships, some promiscuity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:54:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 113,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24416980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aauron/pseuds/Aauron
Summary: An alternate reality where Erza died, and the rest of the guild has to carry on without her. Her death will cause unforeseen ripples on the lives of everyone. What starts as a personal tragedy turns into a battle between Fairy Tail and a mysterious adversary.
Relationships: Evergreen/Elfman Strauss, Levy McGarden/Mystogan, Lucy Heartfilia/Loke, Natsu Dragneel/Lisanna Strauss, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 5
Kudos: 14





	1. Prologue - Funeral For the Fairy Queen

**Author's Note:**

> This story branches off from "Home", where we saw a vision of Erza's death. In this reality her death was real. Canon divergence, but with some AU elements too.

Today is the day of Erza Scarlet’s funeral. It is the saddest day in recent memory for the normally jovial mage’s guild. Erza, Queen of the Fairies, had died several days earlier at the Tower of Heaven, sacrificing her life to save many others. And now, her friends and guildmates are gathered at her gravesite to pay their final respects. The entire guild was present, except for those who were currently away on quests and couldn’t make it back in time.

The dark, cloudy sky and rain added to the gloomy atmosphere. Everyone present was dressed in black, and they wore their sorrow openly. Makarov Dryer, Fairy Tail’s guild master, stood in front of the impressive monument to Erza. It was a statue of Erza atop a horse, weapon in hand. Makarov, Lucy, Gray, Happy, Mirajane, among others; Erza had considered them to be not only her friends, but extended family as well. And now, they stood in attendance and listened in silence while Makarov delivered the Eulogy.

“Erza Scarlet touched many lives in this world, with a heart as huge and boundless as the sky above”, Makarov said.

“Her noble sword shone vibrantly as she protected those she dearly loved. She moved with the grace of a fluttering fairy. And her exquisite beauty rivaled that of mother nature herself. It’s a painful reminder that love can give you strength, but losing love can render you powerless. We’ll miss her. Our Fairy Tail family will never be the same.”

Makarov spoke these words with tears streaming down his face, struggling to maintain his composure. The others kept their heads bowed in solemn grief. But Makarov had barely finished his speech before several members of the Magic Council appeared on the scene. Most of them were attired in dark robes and hoods, further adding to the macabre atmosphere. They were led by council member Org, who addressed the crowd.

“In the wake of this tragedy we have been left with two empty seats on the magic council. We have unanimously voted to award one of those seats to her, posthumously. I am proud to declare miss Erza Scarlet an eternal member of the ten wizard saints.”

This did little to comfort the gathered Fairy Tail members though. While they did appreciate seeing Erza honored like this, the only thing that could really make them feel better right now was having Erza back. But they knew that was impossible.

As Erza’s friends absorbed what Org had said, Natsu arrived on the scene. Unlike the others, he was not dressed in funeral clothes, but his usual outfit instead. It was also immediately apparent that instead of sharing the solemn grief the others felt, Natsu instead felt anger. He made no attempt to hide it.

“I’ve had enough!” Natsu shouted. “I can’t just stand back and watch you go through with this!” Lucy, Gray, and the others were visibly taken aback by this. But even more so by what happened next. Natsu stormed over to Erza’s grave and kicked the bouquet of flowers off it.

“Just what do you think you’re doing young man?” Makarov demanded.

“Please, calm down” Lucy pleaded. Gray, running over, growled “How dare you?”

Natsu defiantly turned to them all and said, “We all know Erza isn’t dead.”

Lucy, unable to cope with both Erza’s death and Natsu’s vulgar outburst all at once, began to tear up and said, “this is already hard enough, please stop!”

But Natsu continued “There’s no way that she could be!”

Several guildmembers rushed over and wrestled Natsu to the ground, restraining him. Lucy, distraught, cried, “Why can’t you face the truth Natsu, she’s gone!”

“Let go of me!” Natsu demanded. “I know Erza’s still alive!” This last part came out as an anguished cry, both enraged and heartbroken. Natsu’s unexpected outburst caused a chain reaction of emotion among everyone there. They could no longer contain their grief. They began crying and wailing, mourning their fallen friend, as the rain poured down around them. Makarov was right; Fairy Tail would never be the same.


	2. The Day After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes at the end.

It was a new day in Magnolia City. The rain had stopped, but the sun was still hidden by an overcast sky. The people of Magnolia went about their business. Men and women at work, children playing, the usual. For many, it wasn’t that different from a typical day. But for the magic guild known as Fairy Tail, It was not typical.

It was the day after the guild had laid Erza to rest, and regretfully said goodbye to her. The guildhall was normally full of life and activity. But today, there was a somber air in the guild. Most of the members still showed up, and were looking for jobs and chatting with each other. But they were a lot less lively than usual. Some of the fairies were talking about the passing of Erza, and how this changed things. Others seemed to avoid talking about her, and were often left with awkward small talk. 

Guild master Makarov was in the guildhall, but was not socializing with the other members. He was somewhere in the back, wanting privacy for the moment. Mirajane was out among everyone instead, taking care of what she could until Makarov returned. Her brother Elfman had just left for a job, apparently not wanting to stay around the guild too long in the current atmosphere. The Thunder Legion was there, minus Laxus. Laxus was conspicuously absent from the funeral the day before, which did nothing to improve the already low opinion many members of Fairy Tail had of him. As one of the top members of the guild and an S class member it was expected that he would at least show up for a few minutes out of respect, but he never did. As for the Strongest Team, the only surviving member of that group who was currently present in the hall was Gray Fullbuster. He was sitting in a corner by himself, drinking. Not excessively, but still earlier in the day than usual.

Mirajane noticed Gray sitting alone. She decided to walk over to him and see how he was doing. He initially didn’t seem to notice her approach. “Hi Gray”, she started. She waited to see if he was willing to talk. For a moment he said nothing, just looking at his drink. But then his gaze shifted up to hers. “Hey Mira”, he responded.

Mirajane look down at him with a sympathetic expression. “How are you holding up?”, she asked.

Gray shrugged his shoulders and said “About as well you, or anyone else, I guess. You knew her as well as I did, maybe even more.” Mirajane shook her head. “Its true that I knew Erza for a long time. We were friends, and guildmates. But you were a team. You, Natsu, and Lucy were closer to her than anyone.”

Gray thought about this for a moment. “Yeah, we were close. So close that the rest of use didn’t know anything about this Tower of Heaven stuff before. Maybe if we had, this wouldn’t have happened. Maybe we could have done something. If she had just told us – “

“Gray, don’t.”

“I’m not blaming her, Mira. I know she had her reasons. I just wish that we could have saved her.”

“I’m sure you did all you could. All of you.”

“Yeah…”, Gray responded, unconvinced. “Anyway, speaking of Lucy and Natsu, where are they? I haven’t seen them.”

“I don’t know, I thought maybe you had seen them earlier.”

Gray’s expression darkened. “If I do see Natsu I’m gonna lay him out for that stunt he pulled yesterday. I can’t believe he did that!” Several people nearby turned their heads in response to Gray raising his voice.

“It was out of line, but he only did it because he was upset”, Mirajane reasoned. “He was obviously torn up over what happened, you know that right?”

“Maybe. It was still a shitty thing to do.”

Mirajane lowered her eyes, with a sad expression. “Yeah.”, she said quietly.

***  
Not too far away, Lucy Heartfilia was still in her apartment, only just waking up. She had in fact overslept. Normally she wakes up early enough, but last night she had had trouble sleeping. She reluctantly got out of bed, still feeling somewhat tired. She looked over at a clock and noticed the time. “Crap, I overslept”, she said to no one in particular.

As she stretched and walked over to the bathroom she wondered if Natsu was going to show up in her apartment unannounced, as usual. Natsu… She suddenly remembered that she hadn’t seen him since… the funeral. She suddenly stopped. Erza is dead. She remembered now. For the past few days this had happened. She’d wake up, momentarily thinking everything was normal, only to quickly recall what had happened. Which would inevitably be followed by a feeling of sadness. It was going to take time to get used to the idea that she was never going to see Erza again.

She hadn’t known Erza as long as many of the others at the guild had. Lucy had only been a member of Fairy Tail for a few months. But in that time, she had traveled with Erza and fought beside her. They were part of a team. She felt that she was starting to develop a real friendship with Erza when the fateful day happened. And now she was gone.

After wallowing in these thoughts for a minute, Lucy took a deep breath and smacked her cheeks. “She’d want us to go on living our lives, not stand around feeling sad all the time”. Which didn’t mean she would stop being sad about it anytime soon, she just wouldn’t let it stop her from being a member of Fairy Tail. She decided that it was what Erza would want.

Because she woke up late, she decided that there wasn’t time for a bath, so just a quick shower. She tried to make it as fast as possible, and got dressed. She was almost ready to head out to the guild. She was still half expecting Natsu, probably with Happy, to show up at any moment. She looked around her apartment to make sure they weren’t there somewhere. She was alone. “Well good. I guess…”

She hadn’t seen Natsu since the funeral yesterday. He had been restrained, and told to leave. Then he ran off while shouting angrily. She had figured he just needed some time to calm down. His outburst had left everyone pretty shaken up, so it wasn’t surprising she didn’t seem him again later that day. But somehow, she had expected him to be closer to his usual self today.

Maybe he’s already at the guild, she thought. She hoped that he and Gray weren’t fighting. Worse than usual, that is.

***  
Lucy arrived at the guild a short time later. As she was entering the front door a few mages were heading out, apparently going out on a quest. It seemed like a bunch of people were heading out on quests today, since there weren’t as many people here and several listings were gone from the job board. Lucy briefly wondered if this had anything to do with Erza.

Stepping inside, Lucy looked around. The guildhall was new, having recently been built after the destruction of the old one. It was noticeably bigger than before. Which, in Lucy’s opinion made it feel grander, but also less cozy.

She didn’t see Natsu here. She did see Gray sitting alone in a corner though. She wondered what kind of mood he was in right now. She started walking over towards him, not really sure what she was going to say. But before she made it over there, she heard a familiar voice from a nearby table. “Hey Lucy, good to see you. I was starting to think you decided to stay home today.” It was Cana Alberona, the card magic mage. She was another member of Fairy Tail that Lucy had recently started developing a friendship with. Lucy was glad to see her.

“Cana, good to see you too.”, Lucy replied earnestly. Lucy displayed a small, but genuine smile.

“Want to talk a minute?” Cana asked. She patted the table with her hand, welcoming Lucy to have a seat. Lucy had wanted to talk to Gray, both to see how he was doing and to ask about Natsu. But she decided it could wait a few minutes.

“Sure, let’s talk.” Lucy sat down across from Cana.

“Soooo…”, Cana began. “How’s it going? I mean, how are you doing?”

“A little better. I feel like I’m ready to get back to work.”

“Don’t rush it. If you need more time then the guild will understand.”

“I’m not rushing. I just feel that the best thing to do is to get back out there, instead of sitting around my apartment being sad.”, Lucy stated. Cana nodded. “I hear ya.” Cana took a drink of ale. As usual she didn’t seem drunk despite constantly drinking. “How about you Cana? Are you… holding up okay?” Lucy asked.

Cana considered for a moment. “Erza was a friend. We knew each other since we were kids. I wasn’t as close to her as some people, but still… I’ll miss her.” Cana took another drink. “But this isn’t the first time I’ve had to deal with a death in the guild. Unfortunately. So, I know how to deal with it. I guess not everyone can though.” Lucy wondered if this last comment was directed at Natsu, but she thought better of asking. The two of them sat in silence for a few moments.

“Anyway…”, Lucy said. “Have you spoken with… the rest of my team since yesterday?” Cana looked at Lucy over the brim of her cup. “Gray doesn’t look like he wants to talk right now, and I haven’t seen Natsu since… you know.” Lucy just looked down at the table. “Anyway Lucy, I’m sure he’ll be back. Just give him time. Hopefully, he’ll have calmed down in time for the Harvest Festival. Assuming they’re still doing that. Its supposed to be real soon.”

“Yeah, maybe something like that will be good for everyone right now”, Lucy agreed. A few more moments in silence. For the moment, there was nothing else to say. “Anyway Cana, it was good talking to you. We’ll talk more later, okay?” Cana smiled. “Anytime Lucy.” Lucy got up from the table and left Cana to her own devices. Lucy wondered if things would really be able to return to normal so easily, so soon after the tragedy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Constructive criticism is welcome. This fic is a canon divergence, but with some AU elements as well. Right now it is about the aftermath of Erza's death, but I may expand it into a longer story with action/adventure elements. We'll see.


	3. The Day After Part 2

Gray had been sitting at the table for a while. He wasn’t sure what he was waiting for. Was he waiting for Natsu to show up? So he could yell at him, or punch him? Or maybe he wanted to see how the rest of the guild would handle things after the funeral. In the case of the latter, Gray got a mixed impression. In some ways things seemed normal. On the surface that is. The guild hall was still running more or less normally, and many people were still here, with the usual going on. But underneath that, there was this feeling that was hard to define. A tension, or maybe even something deeper…

Gray decided that he needed some fresh air. He got up from the table and started to turn, but before he could take two steps, he found Lucy standing in front of him. Gray was slightly startled by this since he hadn’t noticed her before. _Did she just get here, or had she been standing there without me noticing?_ , he thought. “Ummm”, he said, unprepared.

“Hi Gray”, said Lucy. “how are you doing?”

Gray recovered. “I’m fine Lucy”. For the past few days whenever somebody spoke to him the first thing they always said was ‘how are you doing?’, or something similar. He understood why, but it was still getting a little tiring. Besides, he figured most people in the guild are probably doing about the same right now.

“Can we talk?”, Lucy asked.

“Sure, what about?”, Gray said as he leaned with one hand on the table. 

“Well… Natsu for one.”, Lucy said. Gray stiffened a little. He had expected that, but was still a little annoyed. Not at Lucy, just at Natsu in general.

“Okay, what about him?”

Lucy folded her hands uncomfortably. “Gray, you’ve known him longer than most. You know him a lot better than I do. Did he react like this when… well, when Lisanna died?”

Gray wasn’t expecting that question. “Well, no. I mean, he was upset. Angry even. But not like this. I don’t know what he’s thinking.”

Lucy slowly nodded. “Yeah, me neither. But Gray, could you try not to fight with him when he comes back, at least for now? With things the way they are…”, Lucy trailed off.

Gray’s posture became less relaxed. “I’ll try, but I’m not making any promises.”

“…Okay. But there was something else I wanted to ask about too.”

“Alright. Go ahead.”

Lucy hesitated. “Gray… are we still a team? I mean, you, me, Natsu, and Happy. We’re gonna stick together right? Even without…” Lucy paused. “Even with things the way they are now?”

Gray thought for a moment. “I don’t know Lucy. Me and Natsu never got along. Erza was sort of like a buffer between us. Made sure we fought the enemy, instead of each other. Usually.”

Lucy considered this. “Well, maybe I could fill that role. You never know!”, Lucy said with surprising earnestness.

Gray looked at her dubiously. “No offense Lucy, but I don’t see it. You gonna stand between us if things get heated?”

Lucy tilted her head a little, the earnestness fading. “Yeah okay, maybe you’re right. But still, I’d like it if we could still be a team. It just wouldn’t feel right otherwise.”

“We’ll see. Its too soon to say right now. I think we kind of need to work through stuff before we decide what we’re doing moving forward. Does that make sense?”

Lucy nodded again. “I think so. We’ll talk again soon though right?”

“Sure. I’ll see you later Lucy.”

“Bye Gray.”

Gray walked past Lucy, deciding it was time to get some fresh air. He walked to the entrance, and was about to leave. Just before he did though, he heard a voice from the front of the guild hall. It was master Makarov.

***  
Most of the people in the guildhall hadn’t noticed Makarov entering the room, and getting onto the stage. He had been standing there for a minute, collecting his thoughts. Mirajane was standing off to the side watching, waiting for him to begin. “Fairy Tail!”, Makarov said loudly. This got their attention. They all looked up at the stage to see what their master had to say.

“My children.”, he said somewhat less loudly. “I’m glad to see so many of you here today. This is a difficult time, which is why its important for us to stand together, and support one another. We are a family, and families draw strength from one another, especially in times of heartache.”

Makarov paused momentarily, and then continued. “Many of you are probably wondering how things will proceed in the immediate future. I’ll tell you. Guild operations will continue as normal. I know that’s how Erza would have wanted it. However, as I’m sure you’re aware, the Harvest Festival is set to begin very soon. You might be wondering how the current circumstances will affect things. I’ve spent some time thinking about this, and have come to a decision. The Festival will still take place. However, out of respect for the late Erza Scarlet we will be modifying it somewhat. In fact, this year’s event festival will be dedicated to her. As such, we will be toning down certain aspects of the event. It won’t be as big, or showy. It was difficult for me to decide how to approach this. I know a few of you felt that it should be cancelled outright. But it will go on, even if a little differently this time. If any of you decide not to attend this year, I will understand. Just remember; whether you’re there or not, Fairy Tail will always stand together in spirit.”

Makarov stood for a moment, looking out at the faces of his guild. He then slowly walked off the stage, leaving the guild to absorb this. After a minute, people began talking again, and the hall returned to normalcy.

***  
Gajeel Redfox was sitting outside of the guildhall, in the open-air seating area. He was inside for a short time, mostly sticking to the back, after looking at the job board and seeing nothing in particular he was interested in. Then, Makarov came out and started making some big speech about family and togetherness. Gajeel wasn’t interested, so he walked out. Just as he was leaving Makarov started talking about some festival.

So now, Gajeel was just sitting there, annoyed at having nothing to do. _Maybe if I wander around town, I’d find someone dumb enough to pick a fight with me. That could be fun for a minute_ , he thought to himself. Just then, Gajeel heard footsteps. He turned, and noticed Gray walking past, off to somewhere else. Gajeel shrugged. None of his business. Gajeel stood up and stretched. He looked at the sky. While it was cloudy, the sun was sometimes shining through in places. As the rays hit the ground, he noticed a shadow beside him. He turned his head. There was a blue haired female mage standing a few feet away from him. It was Juvia Lockser, the water mage.

Juvia was staring, but not at Gajeel. She was staring at Gray, who was receding into the distance. She looked sad and pensive at the same time. “You’re really fixated on that guy, huh?”, Gajeel said. Juvia appeared startled, as if she hadn’t even noticed Gajeel.

“Um, well… “. Juvia composed herself and started again. “Not that its your concern, but I do care for him. He’s a wonderful man.” Gajeel snorted. “You barely even know him.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve had a strong feeling about him since we first met. He’s kind, and strong, and handsome.”

“Uh huh. Whatever.” Gajeel was already losing interest in the conversation. He was curious about one thing though. “Is it true you joined Fairy Tail just for him?”

“Yes. Well, that was the main reason…”. Juvia trailed off. “So why did you join?”

Gajeel shrugged. “I had my reasons.”

“That’s not much of an answer.”, Juvia said with a little impatience.

“Yeah? Bite me. There’s your answer.”, Gajeel retorted. Juvia appeared annoyed. “I’m starting to see why we were never friends in Phantom Lord.”

Gajeel flashed a smile, which was meant to display his amusement. But Juvia thought it made him look sinister. In fact, Gajeel in general seemed to have an “evil” look about him, with the metal around his face, and the red eyes. And the deep raspy voice contributed too. Then again, people had also accused Juvia of being “creepy” in the past. “I didn’t have any real friends in that place, and I was fine with that. I’m pretty sure you didn’t either. Don’t expect that to change here, for either of us.”, Gajeel said bluntly.

Juvia stiffened. “You may not have friends, but I feel I’ve already made a few here.”

“Yeah?”, Gajeel replied. “Then why have you standing around all by yourself the last few days? I noticed you hiding up there on the second floor.”

“Erza Scarlet just died. I didn’t know her that well, but it seems she was very important to this guild, and much cared for. I decided for the moment I should give the other guild members their space. Even Gray…”

While Juvia had kept to herself these past few days, she had at least gone to the funeral. Even if she mostly stayed in the back, since she hadn’t known Erza long, and felt it was a moment for the people who knew her best. Gajeel on the other hand had not gone to the funeral. He didn’t know Erza at all. He had never even spoken to her. And he had only just joined the guild on top of that. No one in Fairy Tail blamed him for not attending, even if they did still blame him for other things he had done.

“You know, that’s a good idea.”, Gajeel said in response to Juvia’s previous statement. “I could use some space too.” At that, Gajeel walked off away from the guildhall, leaving Juvia standing there alone. Juvia stood there a moment. She noticed there was a slight wind picking up. With the cool temperature and clouds, it was fairly typical fall weather, even if it was also somewhat gloomy. Which to Juvia felt appropriate. She too began walking away from the hall, but making sure not to go in the same direction that Gajeel did.

What neither of them had noticed, was that half a block away someone had been watching them. This person had been standing at the end of an alley, and was partly obscured by shadows. He had been standing there for a little while, watching people go in and out of the guild, but never approaching himself. This person was none other than Natsu Dragneel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I continue the story beyond this point, then it will likely go in some unexpected directions. Besides being a canon divergence, I also want to try some things with the characters and setting that you wouldn't see in the canon.
> 
> I'm also trying to go for a different tone with this story. I want to avoid a lot of the wackier stuff you would see in the series. I'm going for a more serious and hopefully more mature tone. Which doesn't mean there can't be any humor. It would just be different. If I take this story in an action/adventure direction then I will also make the characters in general less overpowered and indestructible than in the canon, to raise the stakes and make things a little more grounded.
> 
> If anyone has any thoughts about these ideas then feel free to comment.


	4. Seeds

It had been a few days since Lucy had last seen Natsu. She was starting to get worried. Not that Natsu couldn’t take care of himself, but it was just unusual for him to take off without saying anything for days. And the last time she had seen him, he wasn’t in the best state of mind. She wondered where he was, and what he was doing.

As for what Lucy was doing, she was currently sitting in her apartment, with her celestial spirit Plue keeping her company. Lucy was sitting in a chair, watching Plue dance around, which amused her. It was getting dark out, so there was a soft lamp on to light the room. She figured she should look for something to read soon, to pass the time. She hadn’t taken any jobs these past few days. She had never worked a solo job before, and wasn’t sure it would go so well if she did. Besides, she was still waiting for Natsu to return. She was sure he would.

After sitting and passing the time with Plue for some time, she decided it was time for a book. “See you later Plue”, she said. She used her silver key to unsummon him, and he vanished. She stretched a little and walked over to her bookcase. Just then, she heard something outside her room. She paused, listening for what it might be. After a moment there was another sound. Footsteps? Then she heard a thud against the wall, right outside her door. It couldn’t be anyone she knew, since the few people from the guild who would come over here wouldn’t bother using her door. Maybe it was a neighbor who had dropped something. Or maybe it was something worse?

She knew there probably wasn’t anything to be afraid of. But sitting alone in her apartment like this, with everything dark and quiet… She reasoned that she had her keys, and could use them. She also grabbed her whip nearby. She walked over to the door. There was suddenly a loud pounding on it. She hesitated. She readied her whip and quickly pulled the door open. It was Natsu. He was leaning against the wall, looking tired or sick. For a moment Lucy stood there, surprised. “Natsu?”, Lucy said. At hearing her voice, he quickly stood up, and appeared to regain composure. “Hey Lucy”, he said casually but with less enthusiasm than usual. 

“Natsu… Hi.”, Lucy responded. She had been waiting for him to come back, but not right this minute, and not knocking on her door like this, which he never does. “Um… Come in.”

“Sure.”, he said. “But hold on.” Natsu turned and looked behind him, as if he were expecting something. Lucy waited a moment, and looked past him to see what he was waiting for. Then she saw; a blue cat flying up the stairs. “I said wait for me Natsu!”, Happy shouted. Happy landed beside Natsu. “I told you we didn’t need to rush over here.”

“Sorry, but you said we should go talk to Lucy real soon, so I hurried over.”

Lucy stood there listening to this, unsure how to respond. “First of all, I think it’d be better if you both came inside, don’t need the neighbors listening.” She stepped aside to let them in, and they both walked into her apartment. Natsu sat down. “Secondly”, Lucy continued, “where have you guys been? I was worried.”

“I was looking for Natsu the past few days.”, Happy explained.

“You two weren’t together this whole time?” Lucy inquired.

“No. He took off a few days ago, and I didn’t know where he went. I spent a few days looking for him, and only found him a little while ago.”

“Sorry Happy. I didn’t mean to abandon you. I just needed some time alone.”

Happy shifted a little. “Yeah. Okay. I can understand that.” He still looked a little hurt.

After a moment of awkward silence, Lucy spoke up. “So, Natsu... is there anything you want to talk about?”

Natsu shrugged. “Like what?”

“Well, I know you were pretty upset the other day. I mean, everyone was, obviously. Including me.” Lucy caught herself rambling, and got to the point. “Anyway… Natsu, do you want to talk about Erza? I mean, ever since… ever since she died, we haven’t really- “

“No.” Natsu interrupted.

“No? But… I think we should- “

“I said no.” Natsu didn’t raise his voice, but he said it with a deep, angry growl that made it clear he didn’t want to talk about that subject. Lucy blinked. “O – okay. We won’t talk about that then.” Another awkward silence, this one a little longer than the last. Lucy remembered that Natsu had had a similar reaction in the past when she had asked him about Lisanna.

Happy finally said something, to break the tension. “sooo, we’re all going to the Harvest Festival tomorrow right? It’ll probably be fun.” Happy looked at them both expectantly.

“Well, yeah I’m going.”, Lucy replied. “There’s supposed to be a talent show, with a prize. I could use the money, for rent and stuff.” Lucy and Happy both waited to see what Natsu would say. For a moment he said nothing. But then he looked up and grinned. “Yeah, sounds like fun! I’ll be there. We all will.” He sounded a little more like his old self. But to Lucy, Natsu’s smile seemed a little forced. But maybe that was just her imagination.

At that moment, Natsu stood up. “Nice talking to you Lucy, but I’m gonna get going. Me and Happy are gonna go find something to eat, and then we’ll burn some of it off with some training.”

“I’m down for the eating, but I’ll sit out the training.”, Happy replied. Natsu just shrugged. “Your loss. Oh, and Lucy… If you see Gramps before I do, tell him I want to talk to him. I know there’s some stuff to work out. I was going to see him tonight, but… It’ll wait till tomorrow.”

“Won’t he be a little busy tomorrow?”, Lucy asked.

“He’s always busy. Besides, it won’t take long.”

“If you say so.”

Without saying another word, Natsu headed for the door. He gave a quick backwards wave, and left. “I’ll catch up to you in a minute Natsu.”, Happy called. “Don’t take too long.”, Natsu called back, already halfway out the door. Happy turned towards Lucy, looking up at her.

“What is it Happy?”, she asked. Happy looked uncertain, like he was unsure if he actually wanted to say something or not. “Lucy… I’m worried about Natsu.”

“Why is that?” Lucy asked.

“He’s… I don’t know. Different. I mean, sometimes he’ll be normal, but other times he seems off.”

Lucy considered this for a moment. “He did seem a little different when he was in here. But someone close to him recently died. That would affect most people.”

“We all cared about Erza, Lucy. Besides… this is different. I’ve seen Natsu angry, and even sad, but not like this. I’m worried.” Happy seemed genuinely concerned about this. Lucy gave him a sympathetic, but reassuring look. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. I think he just needs more time.”

“I hope you’re right.”, Happy said quietly. He turned towards the door, and opened his wings. He turned and said, “See you later.” He then flew off after Natsu. “See you both at the festival tomorrow!”, Lucy called out.

***

Kardia Cathedral stood in the center of Magnolia. A large, ornate church, with long stained-glass windows. It was towering, and impressive to behold. It was also one of the important landmarks of Fiore. However, at the moment there was almost no one there. Almost. There were in fact two people inside at this time. The first was Laxus Dreyar, the grandson of Makarov Dreyar, and heir apparent to guildmaster of Fairy Tail. Or so he believed. Laxus appeared aomewhat thuggish, dressed in a big coat and wearing headphones with spikes attached. The second was a young woman known as Evergreen. True to her name, Evergreen was decked out in a green dress, and with ostentatious (some might say gaudy) fairy wings attached. Both of them had come here on this day for a specific reason.

Today was the day of the Harvest Festival. Many people had been looking forward to it. Laxus had as well, but for different reasons. For a while he had been making plans with his subordinates known as the Thunder Legion. And he had decided that today was the day to enact those plans. Evergreen, Freed and Bickslow would help Laxus make those plans happen. Bickslow and Freed were out preparing at the moment. Evergreen and Laxus were going to meet them at the Fairy Tail guildhall.

“Its finally here”, said Laxus. “Soon that old man will give me what I deserve.” Laxus smiled. “This has been a long time coming. This guild has gotten weak and pathetic. Remember when they came crying to me when Phantom Lord came after them? Time to shake things up with a leader who’s got some real balls.”

Evergreen coughed. “Anyway, I’m sure you’ll be an improvement over “grandpa”. But the timing of this could have been better. I mean, the guild recently had a funeral for Erza Scarlet…”

Laxus sneered at this. “Screw her. Her death just made this guild look even weaker. And the fact they’ve all been moping about it is sickening. Survival of the fittest. She just wasn’t fit enough. Then again, a lot of these losers aren’t fit enough for my Fairy Tail. Gonna have to do some spring cleaning when I take over.”

Evergreen appeared slightly uncomfortable at some of his comments, but recovered quickly. “Well, I suppose this does make me the undisputed Fairy Queen now.”, she said smugly.

“Yeah, sure. Just remember who the master is.”, Laxus added.

“Of course.”, she said.

“Now, its time to meet up with the others. Let’s go pay Makarov a visit.”

***  
At the same time Laxus and Evergreen were getting ready, another scene was happening at the guildhall, not too far away. The talent show was about to start. Some people had decided to sit out the occasion, but there were still plenty in attendance. Makarov and Mirajane were discussing the Fantasia parade, which would be toned down this year, but was still planned to happen. The word had also gotten to them that Laxus was around today.

“He can be a pain in the ass, but he’s still family. It would be nice if he showed up for this.”, Makarov said. Mirajane nodded. “Yeah, that would be nice. So long as he doesn’t make a scene, or cause problems.”

Makarov considered this. “Do you think he would? I know he can be a brat, but under the circumstances, I think he’d show some restraint.”

“Well, I- “, Mirajane began. But before she could continue, the front door loudly opened and someone marched in. Never one for subtlety, it was of course Natsu. All eyes turned towards him. Whether or not Natsu had intended to make himself the center of attention, he was. “Natsu.”, Makarov stated.

“Hey Gramps.”, Natsu replied.

The mages in attendance could sense that there was going to be a scene, and looked on to see how it would play out. Makarov, for his part, looked unamused. “’Hey Gramps’? Is that all you have to say?” Attention from the crowd kept shifting between Makarov and Natsu. Natsu looked around at those gathered, and then back to Makarov. “Look… Master. I have something to say, but… can we talk in private?”

Makarov was surprised by this. Normally, Natsu has no problem with saying whatever’s on his mind regardless of who hears. Ordinarily Makarov would have refused and just had it out there. But he was somewhat disarmed by Natsu’s unexpected request. “Very well. Let’s step outside, and go for a little walk.”, Makarov stated. He turned to Mirajane. “Watch over things while I’m gone, will you?”, he requested.

“Sure. Should I start while you’re out, or would you like me to wait?” She asked.

“Might as well start, I shouldn’t be gone too long.”

With that, Makarov headed for the door, and motioned for Natsu to follow him. They both left, and the guildhall gradually went back to normal.

***  
Currently, Lucy Heartfilia was on the street leading to the guildhall, running. The reason she was running was because she was going to be late for the show. She had lost track of time, and was now rushing to get over there. “Damnit, this isn’t good! I need that money!”, she said, quickly passing people and buildings. Lucy was usually short on money, but this was especially true now since she hadn’t done any quests lately. Normally Lucy would take her time and admire the sights on a nice day like this. Not today.

The guild wasn’t far now. She would be there shortly. She turned a corner and saw the building. At that point she slowed down and allowed herself to catch her breath. “Alright, let’s do this.”, she said to herself. But, before she made it to the hall, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She turned and looked. In a nearby alley, she saw Master Makarov and Natsu. Lucy was surprised by this, but then remembered that Natsu said he wanted to talk to the master. Still, Lucy expected the conversation to happen indoors, like normal. They didn’t seem to have noticed her yet. She hid behind a corner nearby. She was torn by her desire to make it to the contest in time and make some money, and her curiosity over what the two of them were talking about. Against her better judgement, she decided to eavesdrop. She strained to listen to the conversation. It sounded like it had only just started.

***  
Makarov and Natsu had just arrived in this relatively secluded spot. It wasn’t completely private, but they decided it would have to do. Natsu stood there with his head down, arms folded. Makarov slowly paced back and forth, seemingly gathering his thoughts. “So, Natsu.”, he began. “I haven’t seen you at the guild recently. Not since the funeral of Erza Scarlet, may she rest in peace. And now you’ve returned. What do you have to say?”

A slow, cool wind blew through the air, causing Natsu’s scarf to gently move with the breeze. After a moment Natsu looked Makarov in the eyes. “I didn’t mean to upset anyone. Including you. I’m sorry if I made you angry.” Makarov slowly nodded at hearing this. “But my feelings haven’t changed.”, Natsu continued. “You may have given up on Erza, but I haven’t. I can save her. We can.”

Makarov closed his eyes, and tried to retain his patience. “Natsu.”, he began slowly. “Listen to me. Erza is dead. She’s gone, and she’s not coming back. It pains me to say that, but its true. You need to accept this.”

Natsu quickly responded, raising his voice slightly. “No, I don’t. She can be saved. There’s magic that can save her. Powerful magic. She can be alive, and breathing, and talking, and standing right here, with us.”

Makarov suddenly opened his eyes, his expression intense. His voice came out dark and deep. “Natsu… where did you here that from? Tell me.”

Natsu looked aside slightly. “Someone told me about it recently. Told me some things, that most people wouldn’t know.”

“Who? Who told you?”, Makarov demanded.

“That doesn’t matter.”

“The hell it doesn’t! Natsu, you’re talking about dark, forbidden magic. Do you have any idea what that means? I’ve known a few people who spoke of similar things in the past, and it never led anywhere good. I know that you can be reckless, sometimes even destructive, but I refuse to believe that you would ever make _that_ mistake.” For a moment, the two of them stood there in silence. The wind continued to blow. Even though the temperature hadn’t changed, it suddenly seemed as If there was a chill in the air.

Before this conversation could go any farther, they suddenly heard a commotion in the distance. People shouting. One of the voices sounded a lot like Laxus. It sounded like it was coming from the guildhall. “This isn’t over”, Makarov said. The two of them put the talk on hold to go check on their guild.

***  
Laxus and Evergreen arrived at the guildhall, meeting up with Freed and Bickslow as planned. They all stood before the entrance. Laxus just needed to give the word. “Alright, let’s do this. I’m going to enjoy this.”, Laxus said.

“Laxus, wait. There’s something I need to tell you.”, Freed said. “It can wait.”, Laxus replied.

“But Laxus- “, Freed said.

“Did you set the runes?”

“Well, yes but- “

“Then stop talking and follow my lead.” Laxus finished. Freed looked troubled, but kept silent. “Evergreen, get in there and do your job. We’ll be right in.”, Laxus commanded.

“On it.”, said Evergreen. With that, she walked confidently into the hall. There weren’t as many people in there as they had been expecting. But it would do. Mirajane was on stage singing, and not very well. Evergreen didn’t waste any time. She swiftly made her way on stage, took off her glasses, and used her eye magic to turn Mirajane to stone. “Well, that shut her up”, she said. She then quickly did the same to several other people before they could react. Suddenly Gray, who was nearby, said “Don’t look at her eyes!” Unfortunately, he failed to heed his own advice, and was turned to stone as well after she gazed at him. “Put _you_ on ice.”, Evergreen sneered. “Now that’s how you make an entrance!”, she said loudly.

Seconds later, the rest of her group entered dramatically. Laxus, flanked by Freed and Bickslow, looked around at Evergreen’s handiwork. “Not bad.”, he said. He then looked around for someone in particular. The master of the guild. But he didn’t see him. “Where is Makarov? Where are you?”, he demanded. “Listen up old man, this is only the start. I’m taking over this guild!” He waited a moment, but Makarov didn’t appear. “Where is he?”, Laxus muttered to himself. _Is it possible Makarov isn’t here? That could screw things up_ , thought Laxus. Losing patience, Laxus shouted “Alright, whatever! If you can hear me, you have three hours to give Fairy Tail to me, its new master. Or those statues turn to dust! And one more thing: your guild is going to have to fight each other to get to me. It’s the battle of Fairy Tail!” Having said that, Laxus turned on his heel and left, followed by a slightly bemused Thunder Legion. As Laxus was leaving, he said, intentionally loudly, “I’ll find you old man, this is just the beginning!”


	5. Turning Point

Natsu and Makarov both ran towards the guild. Coming out of the alleyway, they suddenly found Lucy standing there. “Lucy, what are you doing here?”, Natsu asked. Lucy looked uncomfortable, and seemed unsure how to respond. “Um… I uh, just got here. Uh… What are you doing here?” She replied.

“Never mind that, did you see what was happening over there? I thought I heard Laxus.”, Makarov said.

“Oh yeah, I just saw him and the Thunder Legion coming out of the guild. There was some yelling too. I think something might have happened.” Lucy said.

Wasting no time, Makarov said “Alright, let’s go check. I doubt that all four of them stopped by just to say hello.” They all ran over to the guild, going right up to the entrance. Before they could enter, they found Gajeel at the door. He was pressing against a magical barrier, unable to get out. Upon seeing Natsu, he sneered “Salamander.” Natsu just stared at him and asked “What’s happened?”

Gajeel looked annoyed. “Seems I can’t leave. Magical barrier.” Gajeel knocked on the barrier for emphasis. “Maybe someone could help with that? Oh yeah, and there are a bunch of people here that got turned to statues too. That glasses girl did it.” Makarov considered all of this. “Magical barriers, and statues. I’m guessing Freed created the barriers. Probably under orders from Laxus.”, he said with some anger.

“Yeah, Laxus said something about you letting him be guildmaster in three hours or they turn to dust. And something about a battle.”, Gajeel explained.

“If it’s a fight he wants, I’ll give it to him.”, Natsu said.

“We all will. Those of us that can.”, said Makarov. In the distance, they all saw a bunch of fellow guild members trapped in a barrier, fighting each other. “Just so you know, if I get stuck in one of those, I won’t hesitate to kick anyone else’s ass, even if they’re a guildmate.” Natsu said.

“They’re not seriously being forced to fight each other? I don’t want to fight other Fairy Tail members.”, said Lucy.

“I don’t want that either. We need to put a stop to this. We need to find Laxus.” Makarov said.

“For the record though, I don’t think Laxus would actually kill anyone in the guild.”, Natsu said.

Just then, Happy came flying down. “You guys, what’s going on here?” the cat asked.

“Good timing Happy. Look, I need you to fly me around. I’ll explain what’s happening. Don’t waste time, just grab me.”, Natsu said.

“Aye sir.” Happy grabbed Natsu and flew off.

“So reckless…”, Makarov muttered. “Lucy, it might be a good idea for us to split up, but be careful. You might want to try to keep distance from other members until we find Laxus, just in case.”

“Okay master.”, Lucy agreed.

“What about me?”, asked Gajeel. “We’ll help you, and the others, by defeating Laxus, or maybe even reasoning with him.” Makarov said. But he knew that reasoning with Laxus was unlikely to work right now. “Let’s go.”, he said.

Makarov and Lucy split off in different diretions.

***  
Lucy started moving fast, but while doing her best not to get caught in a trap. She actually saw several other Fairy Tail members moving about, so maybe the traps weren’t as numerous as they first thought. She still had to be careful though. Lucy entered into an open area, with various lights and statues around. She looked around, and saw none of Laxus’ crew, just a few random townspeople. Lucy briefly reflected that this wasn’t at all how she saw this day going. She wasn’t sure what to expect exactly, but certainly not having to get into a big fight against other Fairy Tail mages. Lucy’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted when an explosion went off a few feet away from her. It barely missed her.

“So close”, a voice above said. Lucy looked up. She saw Evergreen flying above, using her fairy wings. “Lucy Heartfilia. Looks like you’re unlucky enough to have run into me. I was hoping for a more challenging opponent, but beating you will be fun anyway.” A stream of glittering dust began heading towards Lucy. “Oh shit!”, Lucy said, and quickly jumped aside. Not a second too soon, as the place where she had been was filled with a small explosion.

Evergreen laughed. “You don’t actually think you stand a chance, do you? Might as well just lay down and surrender, you dumb blonde.” Evergeen reached for her glasses. “I know how to keep you in place.” As she took the glasses off, Lucy remembered the statues back at the guild, and quickly turned away. “You can’t avoid my explosions _and _avoid looking at me. And if you can’t do both, you can’t fight me.”. Lucy knew that Evergreen had a point. Lucy had gotten lucky so far, but she needed to do something fast or she was going to get taken out.__

____

____

Lucy ran behind a statue, while avoiding looking at Evergreen. “God, you’re pathetic. I’m not even putting in any real effort here. You always were the weak link of the so-called “Strongest Team.”, Evergreen mocked. Evergreen’s comments actually hurt Lucy, because she knew there was some truth to them. She was never as strong as Natsu, or Erza, or even Gray for that matter. Not that Lucy didn’t have power of her own, but it didn’t compare to theirs. They were not only stronger, but better fighters as well. But she could at least take down Evergreen. At least, she hoped so. She just had to think of the right strategy. She decided to use her key to call forth Leo, aka Loke. Within seconds he appeared before her.

“Lucy, good to see you again.” He looked up and saw another stream of dust. “Obviously, the circumstances could be better though.” He quickly picked her up and jump several yards away with her, avoiding the explosion. He set her down and walked out to face Evergreen. “This won’t save you Lucy.”, Evergreen said.

Loke leapt towards Evergreen, but she flew out of the way, and set an explosion off where he jumped, knocking him to the ground. “Loke, are you okay?”, Lucy called. “I’m fine Lucy.”, he said.

“For now.”, Evergeen added. She sent more explosions to both their locations. Loke dodged, while Lucy’s arm suffered a minor burn. She yelled in pain. Loke ran to her. They both hid behind a bigger statue near a fountain. “Lucy- “, Loke began. “I’m fine.”, Lucy assured him. “I need you to distract her. I think I can take her down.” A crowd was starting to gather. That could be dangerous. “Okay Lucy. But just so you know, I might end up taking her down first, so you don’t have to.”

“I wouldn’t complain.” She added. Just then, the top of the statue blew off. “Even for you Lucy, this seems low effort. Do you know anything about combat, or do you just run and hide?”, Evergreen again said mockingly. Lucy wasn’t sure if she was more bothered by the insults, or by the fact that they bothered her so much.

“Maybe if I start targeting some of these onlookers that will lure you out…” Evergreen said. But then, Loke ran out to the side, quickly drawing Evergreen’s attacks. At that point Lucy called on Sagittarius. It was difficult for Lucy to call a second spirit, and she wouldn’t be able to maintain it for long. “Sagittarius, target her wings and take her out of the sky!”, Lucy commanded. The horse archer nodded and readied his bow. Evergreen was aware of her surroundings though. Before he could get a shot, Evergreen sent blasts of energy at him. He was hit, but still standing. Lucy had already moved. Loke continued to distract her, but she had started flying towards him. She was stronger than she looked, and could potentially take him out. But Lucy, taking advantage of Evergreen’s momentary focus on Loke, used her whip to grab Evergreen’s leg mid-flight. This stopped her in mid-air. The archer then used arrows to attack her wings. She fell to the ground. Evergreen turned and spitefully shot a magic blast at Lucy, hitting her legs. Lucy got down to one knee. Loke kicked Evergreen hard in the face, which would likely leave a black eye. But suddenly, both he and Sagittarius disappeared. Lucy had used up a lot of magic.

She was still able to stand though. Evergreen was still conscious. She was about to attack Lucy with another magic spell, but Lucy ran over and kicked her in the face, maybe a little harder than she intended. That might leave another black eye. Lucy looked down at Evergreen. “Oh shit, I didn’t mean to knock her out like that. I wanted to get her to unfreeze the others. I hope that ‘turn to dust’ stuff was a bluff.” Though Lucy was in bad shape, she knew she needed to continue on if she was able. She didn’t know what she would be able to do with such little power left, but she couldn’t just stand here. She left the area as quickly as she was able.

***  
Natsu and Happy had been flying around Magnolia for several minutes, seeing if they could spot Laxus. So far, no luck. Under different circumstances Natsu probably wouldn’t have minded this battle between guildmates stuff. May have even enjoyed it. But his mind was elsewhere right now. Still… He would enjoy fighting Laxus at least. It might give him a chance to work off some of the anger he’s feeling.

“Natsu, do you have any idea where Laxus is?”, Happy asked.

“No Happy, that’s why we’re looking for him.”, Natsu replied.

“Did Laxus mention where he was going before he left the guild? Maybe he left a clue? Maybe we should have asked Gajeel- “

“Maybe, maybe, maybe. Doesn’t matter, we’ll find him. But I’d settle for one of his lackeys.”

Just then, a flying object came at the two of them. Happy managed to dodge it in time, but was left a little shaken. “What was that?”, the cat asked.

“That was me, kitty.”, said a voice from a nearby rooftop. Natsu turned toward the sound, and saw Bickslow. He was surrounded by several of his flying dolls. Bickslow was dressed in his usual black and white outfit with helmet. Bickslow stood there, spreading his arms wide, daring Natsu to come after him. Several of his dolls were flying about him. “Come on Dragneel, let’s see what you got.” He was baiting Natsu. Natsu didn’t care.

“Drop me, Happy!”, Natsu called out.

“But- “

“Just do it!”

Happy complied and dropped Natsu almost above Bickslow. Natsu summoned fire into his arm. “Get him babies!”, Bickslow called. Two of his “babies” flew toward Natsu and exploded near him, knocking him back. Natus could handle fire better than most, and wasn’t hurt bad. He managed to land on his hands and knees. Happy flew down to Natsu. Natsu hurled a couple fireballs at Bickslow, but his dolls blocked them. “What now Natsu?”, Happy asked.

“How about this?”, Bickslow called out. Happy and Natsu turned to look. They hadn’t noticed that Bickslow had taken his helmet off. Natsu closed his eyes in time, but Happy didn’t. He looked into Bickslow’s eyes, and began to falter. He fell to the ground. He was falling under Bickslow’s control.

“Now you’re all alone Natsu, but I’ve got allies.”, Bickslow said. In a surprising move, Natsu grabbed Happy and threw him off the roof. Bickslow was surprised by this. “Woah, that was cold. But it won’t save you.” Bickslow’s dolls had come together, and fired a beam at Natsu. It hit, but Natsu still stood. Natsu clenched his teeth from the magical damage. Gathering his strength, Natsu summoned flames around himself. This burned up one of the dolls and forced Bickslow to back up. “You know, I can just get more allies.” He looked down at the street below, and saw a few people, onlookers who had heard the noise and were curious. Bickslow made to jump off, but Natsu used his trademark fire dragon roar. Bickslow jumped. Natsu’s attack partially hit him, burning the opponent’s lower half. He fell to the ground below.

Natsu walked over and looked down. Bickslow was down, but still conscious. Bickslow looked up at the now scared citizens, and smiled at them. But before he could do anything, Natsu dropped a fist into his back from above, after jumping off the roof himself. The onlookers now ran away. Bickslow was now defeated. But now Natsu couldn’t question him.

Natsu sat beside Bickslow for a moment, groaned, and got up. Now that the fight was over, and the adrenaline was wearing off, Natsu realized he was more beat up than he thought. He turned around a corner, and walked over to a dumpster. It was the dumpster full of trash Natsu had thrown Happy into earlier. Happy groaned a little.

“What happened?”, Natsu’s diminutive friend asked.

“Sorry Happy, Bickslow had gotten hold of you and I had to toss you. but I did it to protect both of us. It was easier this way.”

“If you say so…”

“Anyway, I finished Bickslow. Got to admit, he was tougher than I thought. Anyway, you ready to fly again?”

Happy felt a little sore from being thrown. “Can you give me a minute? I _did _get thrown off of a roof, you know.”__

____

__

Natsu decided a short break couldn’t hurt, especially since they just took out one of the threats. “Okay. We’ll wait a minute.”

***  
Lucy had been moving around the city, looking for other Fairy Tail members (but while making sure to keep her distance, lest they get trapped together). The only ones that she encountered were either unconscious or currently fighting each other, and not inclined to talk to her. Unconsciously or not, she had ended up moving closer to the center of the city. She had recovered a little from her previous battle, but still was far from full power.

After turning down another street, Lucy happened upon a few Fairy Tail members still standing, but were currently trapped in a magical barrier. It was Cana and Levy McGarden. After a moment, Lucy also noticed that there was a third person in there, on the ground. It was Max, another guildmember. Apparently, he had already been defeated. As for Cana and Levy, the two of them were facing each other, since they both knew that the barrier would only disappear when there was a winner.

“Levy, Cana, its good to see you two!”, Lucy said from outside the barrier. Both of them abruptly turned towards her at the sound of her voice. They had apparently not noticed her approach. “Lucy, I wasn’t expecting to see you.”, Levy said. “Yeah, its good to see you Lucy, but this isn’t the best time. Me and Levy need to finish up here.”, added Cana.

“Wait, you guys shouldn’t be fighting, we’re on the same team.”, Lucy replied.

“Just the way it has to be”, Cana said. She drew a few cards, readying an attack.

“You know, maybe Lucy has a point, we could try talking about this.”, Levy suggested. She didn’t look eager to battle Cana. Lucy wondered if this was because Levy didn’t want to get hurt, or because she didn’t want to hurt Cana.

“There’s no other way.”, Cana said, as she threw a card at Levy that turned into a fireball. Levy dodged it, but tripped and fell.

“Cana, wait. Maybe there is another way.”, Lucy said. “You can use that spell… What was it? Card Dimension! Maybe that would work, and you wouldn’t have to hurt each other. Uh, any more than you already have.”

Cana stopped to think about this. “Hmm.”

“Wait, what is that?”, Levy questioned.

“Well, it shouldn’t hurt. But it’ll be easier to perform if you don’t fight me, Levy.”

“Umm, okay…”, Levy said, unsure.

Cana drew another card, and performed the spell. Levy was pulled into the card, which Levy didn’t appear entirely comfortable with. Cana looked around at the barrier, which was still up. “Well, now what?”, Cana said. Lucy looked disappointed. But then, after a few seconds the barrier collapsed.

“Huh, it worked.”, Cana said. “I never doubted it.”, Lucy lied.

“So, what now?” Cana said.

“Now we can look for Laxus together. But first, you might want to release Levy.”, Lucy said.

“Oh, yeah.” Cana used her magic to release Levy from the card. Levy appeared before them, unharmed, but a little flustered. “Well, that was weird!”, she said.

“I’m just glad you’re both okay.”, Lucy said, smiling.

“What about Max?”, Levy asked. The three of them looked down at him, still on the ground. He was breathing, and didn’t seem hurt too badly. “I think he’ll be alright. We can come back for him later. Not to mention everyone else…”, Lucy remarked. “Now we just need to pick a direction.” At that moment, they heard a loud noise not too far away. They turned to look. “Did that come from the cathedral?”, Levy asked. A second later, another noise, followed by the sound of a window being blown out by lightning.

“Yeah, that was definitely the church, and we can all guess who’s in there.”, Cana said.

“Who is he fighting though?”, Levy said.

“Maybe its Natsu?”, Lucy suggested.

“Guess we’ll find out. Let’s go!”, Cana said. Without another word, the three of them set off for Kardia Cathedral.

***  
Laxus sat alone in Kardia Cathedral. He was currently watching some of the fights going on around the city, through the use of a magical lacrima. He would like to be able to say that it was all going according to plan, but truthfully it wasn’t. Things had gone wrong. Makarov was supposed to be trapped inside of the guildhall, but he was nowhere to be seen. Maybe Laxus could locate him through the lacrima given a little more time, but still. Some guild members not showing up made things a little more unpredictable too. When Laxus was planning this, he was sure that he knew where most people would be. But this funeral stuff had thrown things off. Natsu wasn’t at the guildhall either, but that much Laxus at least half expected. 

Natsu hadn’t been around much recently. However, Laxus did see Natsu take out Bickslow earlier. That wasn’t a complete surprise, Natsu is pretty tough for a non-S -class wizard. But what did surprise Laxus was Lucy Heartfilia of all people defeating Evergreen. Laxus had always seen Lucy as a joke, so her defeating Evergreen made Laxus consider that he might have made a mistake having Evergeen as a member of his team. But there was one other problem too…

Before Laxus could do anymore scrying, Freed entered the cathedral. Laxus looked up. Freed expected Laxus to be annoyed at his presence. Instead, Laxus just said “Freed, just the man I wanted to talk to.”

“Oh, you do?” Freed replied.

“Yeah. I was actually hoping you could answer a question.” Freed suddenly suspected he knew where this was going. Laxus must have noticed. Laxus continued, “So, I’ve been watching things, and it looks like there’s a problem. Remember when I told you to put up all of those magical runes, and you said you would?” Laxus’ voice was gaining a subtle menacing edge to it.

“Laxus, I can exp- “, Freed started, but Laxus cut him off.

“It seems that you didn’t put all of them up. People are running through areas that should have trapped them, and there are more pests left standing then there should be right now.” Laxus voice was rising. “So, my question is, what the hell happened? You had a job to do, and this is the result? You better have a good explanation.”

Freed hesitated. “Laxus… I did put up the majority of the barriers. But I stopped. It didn’t feel right.”

“It didn’t feel right?”, Laxus said incredulously.

“I mean… the guild is still mourning Erza Scarlet, and they dedicated this event to her, so… I just couldn’t finish.”

Laxus still looked incredulous. He lowered his head. “Let me get this straight; you decided to sabotage my plan over that worthless bitch? She’s more important to you than me?”

“No, Laxus, I was thinking of the guild. This wasn’t easy. I’ve been thinking this over for a little while. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I wanted to tell you earlier, but...” Freed trailed off.

Laxus stood there a moment. Without warning, he fired a bolt of lightning at Freed, hitting him in the chest. Freed fell to the ground, injured. “You were thinking of the guild? You’re supposed to be loyal to only me! This guild needs me as its master, and I deserve to be its master. I won’t let you or anyone else stop me.”

Freed felt very conflicted, divided between his loyalty to Laxus and his conscience. “Laxus please, forgive me. I can still help you.”, Freed begged.

Laxus threw another bolt of lightning at Freed, hurting him further. Freed cried out in pain. “No. I don’t need your help, traitor. I’ll do this alone if I have to. I still have the Thunder Palace.”

“That’s enough.”, another voice called out at the entrance. Neither Laxus nor Freed had noticed anyone else enter. Laxus looked up at the new arrival. “You! I wasn’t expecting to see _you _here.” Laxus cracked his knuckles. “But since you showed up, beating you will send a pretty clear message.”__

____

____

The person at the entrance was the mysterious figure known only as Mystogan. He was dressed in his usual ninja-like garb, covered from head to foot. His face was hidden by a mask. He carried several magical staves on his back, which is how he performs his magic. He stood facing Laxus, but since Mystogan’s face was covered, his expression was unreadable.

“Give up or prepare to battle. But if it comes to that, you won’t win.”, Mystogan said in his formal manner.

Laxus laughed. “You think I’m scared of a guy who’s too much of a coward to show his own face? What do you have to hide?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m here now.” Mystogan drew a stave, preparing to attack. Before he could, Laxus blasted electricity at him. Mystogan quickly dodged the attack. Mystogan suddenly turned into mist, and quickly moved to another area, catching Laxus off guard. He reappeared behind Laxus, and quickly threw three staves down. The floor beneath Laxus exploded with magical energy. Laxus wasn’t able to dodge it, but was able to withstand it. He quickly recovered. Taking a few steps forward, Laxus used his lightning dragon roar, firing it at the masked opponent. But Mystogan had enough time to call up a spell known as “mirror water”, which can reflect spells. Laxus’ attack was fired back, but Laxus was able to withstand it. He is all but immune to electrical attacks.

“I’m a lightning dragon slayer. You can’t expect to beat me with those sticks.”, Laxus said. During this whole thing, Freed was nearby, still hurt. He could get involved, but he wasn’t sure what to do. His instinct was to help Laxus, but Laxus made it clear he didn’t want Freed’s help at this point. Besides, Freed wasn’t sure if he still wanted to help in Laxus’ plan. As for the two combatants, Laxus fired several more blasts at Mystogan, but he ran fast enough to dodge them. One of the blasts blew out a window.

The two men stopped to catch a breath. Then, they both started drawing energy. They were both preparing a big attack against the other one. The cathedral hall began to glow with magical energy. Mystogan was now using all five staves, and Laxus was nearly ready to unleash his power. But then a large fireball came rushing at Laxus, hitting him and knocking him off balance. Mystogan canceled his attack to see what had happened. Of course, it was Natsu. “After all the trouble I went through finding you, I think I’m entitled to give you a beatdown.”, Natsu said with his usual bravado.

Mystogan, taking a few steps back into the shadow, said “I can handle this. But you can take up the fight if I happen to fail.”

“Don’t think so.”, Natsu said plainly.

“It doesn’t matter, I’ll take you both on.”, Laxus said.

“Well, what about us?” The voice, coming from the entrance, belonged to Cana Alberona. She was flanked by Lucy and Levy. “Oh, what the hell? These chicks managed to make it here too? God damnit Freed.”, Laxus said, obviously feeling this was Freed’s fault for not doing his job.

“Natsu, I knew I’d find you here.”, Lucy said. “Yeah, but no time for talking. Gotta deal with this.”, Natsu said.

“Let us help you.”, Lucy replied.

“No. Leave Laxus to me. I can take him.”

“But Natsu- “, before Lucy could finish, Natsu ran off towards Laxus. He ignited his fists and pounded at Laxus. Laxus fought back, upper cutting Natsu, knocking him back. Natsu yelled and charged again, throwing fire along the way. Laxus dodged most of it, and punched Natsu in the stomach, at which point Natsu fell to his knees. “Jeez, did Bickslow do that much of a number on you? Or are you just all talk?”, Laxus mocked. Natsu delivered a surprise uppercut of his own. Laxus staggered back. Natsu capitalized by delivering several more quick punches to Laxus’ face, but Laxus then grabbed Natsu and threw him to the ground hard. Laxus shoved his foot into Natsu’s abdomen. Laxus gathered lightning for an attack. He raised his fist in preparation of slamming it into Natsu with the power of his lightning behind it. But he suddenly felt something holding his arm back. He turned. Lucy had hooked her whip around his arm.

“You stupid bimbo.”, Laxus said. “Let go or I’ll- “, Laxus suddenly felt a strong blast of water in his face. It was Cana, who had used a card to attack him. Laxus, enraged, called forth a powerful surge of electricity, blasting it in a radius around him. His opponents were knocked back, giving him a moment to recover.

Meanwhile, Levy was trying to think of what spell to use. But then she noticed Mystogan, still standing there in the shadows. “Hey, you’re Mystogan, right? You’re an S-class mage. If you help us, we should be able to beat Laxus quickly!” Mystogan, turning towards her, gave no response. “Come on, we need your help!”, she insisted. Mystogan looked around at the group that had gathered in the church.

“Actually, I think I should go now. I believe you can handle this.”, he said in a hushed voice.

“What, no! Don’t go, we still need you.” But just as she said that, Mystogan indeed disappeared before her eyes, leaving her staring at an empty space. “Thanks a lot.”, Levy said sarcastically. Levy turned back to the fight, noticing that Natsu had gotten back up. Laxus had taken a moment to recover. Lucy and Cana were holding a key and card respectively, preparing their own attacks. Laxus looked around at the people surrounding him.

“Alright, that’s enough of these games.”, he said. Laxus smiled. He had just done something. “I just activated the Thunder Palace, a series of lightning lacrimas spread around the city. I was saving this as a last resort. I would have liked to have set it for a while from now, give you all a chance to sweat. But I’m getting pretty annoyed now, so I set it for fifteen minutes. When it goes off, it’ll destroy all of Magnolia.”

“You’re bluffing.”, Natsu said.

“I’m not.”, Laxus replied, with a dead serious look on his face.

“Okay, we can talk about this.”, Lucy said.

“Too late for that , girlie. Surrender now or the town is destroyed.”

A tense moment passed where they stood there, the Fairies not sure what to do. Outside, someone else was approaching the cathedral. More guild members? At any rate, it didn’t take Natsu long to decide that the best course of action was to beat Laxus until _he _surrendered. He rushed at Laxus, and they quickly renewed their fight. Meanwhile, Jet entered the Cathedral. Jet was the fastest member of the guild, so if there were still other members out there standing, it made sense he would make it here before them. “Did I make it in time to help?”, he asked.__

____

____

“Maybe, I hope. Is there anyone else?”, Levy asked.

“Yeah, Master Makarov found a couple others, but a lot of the guild is down. But Makarov’s group should be here soon. Unless they get caught.”

“We have no time to lose.”, Cana said. Laxus is going to set off lightning lacrimas around the city. It could destroy everything. We can try fighting Laxus, and maybe get him to deactivate them. Or we can try to take them out ourselves, with very little time. Natsu already made his choice.” At that moment Natsu and Laxus actually crashed through a window, taking the fight outside.

“I’ll try to use my speed to take out at least a few of them.” Jet said. He immediately set off to look for the closest ones.

“Hope he makes it. Well girls, I guess we know what to do. We should try to take out a few of them too.”, Cana said.

“I’ll help too.”, Freed said. The others had almost forgotten he was there. “I admit this has gone too far. I’ll do what I can.” Cana just shrugged. “Alright, whatever we’re gonna do we need to do it now.” They all ran off towards the lacrimas.

***  
Natsu and Laxus were still brawling in the street. They were both winded, but Natsu was worse off. Natsu tried to power up his flames, but found that it wasn’t quite as much as he would like. Electricity streaked around Laxus, and he appeared to be getting a second wind. They both fired magic blasts at each other, both pushing each other back. Natsu was forced down to one knee, while Laxus was still standing. “You can’t beat me.”, Laxus stated plainly. “I have to.” Natsu said, through clenched teeth. Laxus surprised Natsu with a blow to the face, knocking him down. Before Laxus could capitalize, he saw Freed with the three girls running towards him. He prepared to attack, before realizing they weren’t running at him. They were passing by, towards the Lacrimas nearby. Laxus smirked at this. “Even if you take out a few, you can’t get them all. They’ll blast you if you try.” They ignored him and kept running. In the distance, a big electrical noise could be heard. Maybe someone had already tried taking one out. Laxus shrugged and turned back to Natsu.

Meanwhile, Lucy and the others arrived at a line of lacrimas. There was a little distance between them, but not too much. Cana decided to try first. She used a card, and threw it at a lacrima, exploding it. The lacrima was destroyed. “Alright!”, Cana said. Lucy raised a hand to high five her, but then a lightning bolt struck Cana, knocking her to the ground. There was smoke coming off of her body. “Cana, no!”, Lucy said. She rushed over to check on Cana. She was alive, but badly hurt.

“Will she be okay?”, Levy asked.

“I don’t know. I hope so.”, Lucy said.

Levy looked afraid. “So, I guess I’m next.”

“No, I’ll go next. I’ll try to take out several at once.”, said Freed.

“That sounds like suicide! You saw what happened to Cana when she took out just one.”, Lucy said.

Freed hesitated. “I have to do something, right? I played a part in this. If something happens, tell Laxus… never mind. Just wish me luck.” Using his magic, Freed inscribed some runes onto himself, growing a pair of wings. He took flight, and positioned himself to attack the lacrimas. He then used his “dark ecriture” to cast a “destruction” spell, and flew towards the lacrimas. He quickly slashed a few of them with his sword while flying through the air. He prepared to use the same spell again to take out a few more, readying himself. But before he could, he was struck by several lighting attacks at once, which violently blew him several yards away. He crashed against the side of a building, with his head and upper body taking most of the impact. A loud crunch sound could be heard by Lucy and Levy nearby. Freed lay collapsed on the street. Lucy rushed over to him, just as she had done with Cana. Freed appeared in far worse shape than Cana. He was severely burned, was bleeding, and appeared to have broken bones.

“We need to help him.”, Lucy said. “Yeah, but we still need to get those other lacrimas too.”, Levy added.

“Maybe I can summon Taurus to carry him somewhere for help. Porlyusica the healer? And the two of us can take out a few more.”

Levy shook her head. “I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to move someone when they’ve been injured like that, Lucy. We could end up making it worse.” Lucy looked indecisive. “We’ve only got a few minutes to do something, Lucy. Its now or never.”, Levy said.

Looking at Freed, Lucy suddenly though of something. “Maybe we can get Laxus to stop this now.”, Lucy said. Without explaining, she ran back towards Laxus and Natsu. She ran quickly, and it wasn’t far. When she got there, she saw Laxus and Natsu, but Makarov had arrived as well. He was standing between Laxus and Natsu. Laxus was still standing. Natsu was on one knee, and breathing heavily, but still looked like he was willing to fight. Makarov was apparently in the middle of saying something already.

“Laxus, stop this now. I won’t ask again. Innocent people will get hurt.” Makarov looked like he was willing to fight too. Laxus looked less cocky, but still defiant. “I need help!”, Lucy interrupted. “Cana has been hurt, and Freed was hurt really badly after taking out several lacrimas himself. I think he might be… dying.” Lucy had hoped this would convince Laxus to stop this. She didn’t know Laxus or his legion well, but they were seemingly close with each other. Laxus appeared hesitant, but said nothing.

“Laxus, if this is true, then one of your own comrades could end up dying because of you. Do you really want that? What kind of leader would you be then?”, Makarov asked.

Laxus stiffened. “He won’t die. This is bullshit. She’s lying. I’ll prove it. Where is he?”

“This way!” Lucy said. She ran as fast as she could go with the others following behind. Even though Natsu was injured, he made sure to follow as well. They arrived at the scene. Cana was still unconscious. Levy was down to, having taken out a single lacrima. And of course Freed was still lying bleeding and broken nearby. Lucy wasn’t sure if he looked worse then she remembered, or if his condition was worsening already. His breath was shallow, and he was turning pale. Laxus looked down at Freed, standing silent.

“Laxus, we might be able to save him, but you need to deactivate the Thunder Palace. Now. If he dies, then his death, as well as anyone else who gets hurt, will be on your head.”, Makarov said.

“If he dies, I’ll kill you.”, Natsu growled. Lucy was shocked, because the expression on Natsu’s face made it look like he might actually mean it. There was only about a minute to spare. Time was almost up. Several of the lacrimas had been destroyed, which would reduce the damage, but a lot of destruction would still occur if they fired. Laxus appeared to gather himself. Finally, without saying a word, Laxus deactivated the lacrimas. They were no longer charged, and the town was now safe.

“Thank heavens.”, Makarov said. The Battle for Fairy Tail had come to an unceremonious end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously this chapter is an alternate version of the events of The Battle For Fairy Tail from the canon. I decided to go a different direction with it than the series. If anyone wants to share any opinions on it, feel free.
> 
> Also, since Mystogan appears here, and Porlyusica is mentioned, I feel that now is a good time to mention that I will not be touching the Edolas stuff in this story, aside from those two characters. Largely because I don't feel that it would really fit in the story I want to tell here. So, no other Edolas characters will appear, including Pantherlily. In addition, in this story Lisanna never went to Edolas, she was actually killed by Elfman (accidentally of course). This doesn't mean that Edolas doesn't exist in this AU. It just means that, for one reason or another, they won't be getting involved with Earth Land. Feel free to come up with your own explanation for that if you want.


	6. Separate Paths

A while later, many of the guild members were back at the Fairy Tail guild hall. Many of them were injured, some worse than others. The most gravely injured had been carefully brought back, so as not to hurt them further. It turns out that Porlyusica had already come to the guild while the city-wide battle was still going on. Most of the people inside were still in statue form when she arrived, but she was able to use a unique concoction to restore them. Evergreen later admitted that they would have turned back on their own anyway, but better safe than sorry.

Freed was the most badly hurt of all the mages. When the others found out about his condition, it brought back some of the tension in the guild. The last thing they wanted to hear was that Fairy Tail was going to suffer another tragedy so soon after the last one, even if Freed had played a part in Laxus’ plan. Freed had been brought to a room in the back of the guild, where he was being tended to by Porlyusica. The rest of the guild waited to find out what his fate would be. And of course, what Laxus’ fate would be, now that he would have to answer to Master Makarov for what he had done.

***  
In the back of the guild, Porlyusica watched over her patients. Cana had been burned, but was mostly healed. She was still unconscious, but was expected to make a full recovery. Jet, like Freed, had attempted to take out multiple lacrimas. He got lucky in that his injuries weren’t as bad as they could have been. He had been severely burned, but since the burns were caused by magic Porlyusica had been able to heal most of the damage, leaving only a few small scars.

And then there was Freed. Freed had also suffered electrical burns, which were magical. As well as broken bones. The healer had been able to fix much of that damage, with some effort, using various magical potions and salves. However, there was still the injuries he had suffered to his head. His head had slammed into a wall, giving him a concussion, among other things. This injury was not directly caused by magic, and was not as easy to heal. She was trying her best though.

Bickslow and Evergreen were present too, albeit bruised and bandaged. Makarov was there as well, insisting that he had to be there to see if Freed would be okay or not. Makarov considered all of the Fairy Tail mages to be his children, even if they’ve done wrong. Laxus was there as well. Makarov had also insisted on that, so that Laxus could see the consequences of his actions firsthand. The men stood silent as Porlyusica worked. After a time, she finished. She looked at Makarov. He looked up at her expectantly.

“Most of these kids will make a full recovery. But Freed… his case is different. It appears as though he’s in a comatose state.” Porlyusica said. The others’ expressions ranged from pensive to distressed. She continued, “He suffered severe trauma to the head. He has a fractured skull, and it appears that he has brain trauma as well.”

Evergreen and Bickslow exchanged a look. “But… He’ll be okay right?” asked Evergreen. Porlyusica’s expression was not reassuring. She explained, “I was able to reduce the swelling, but I fear the damage may be permanent. As for the coma, I don’t know when he’ll wake up. Maybe in a day. Or a week, or a year. There is even a possibility that he may never regain consciousness. Even if he does, there is a good chance that he will not be the same as you remember him. I’m sorry I can’t give you better news, but I thought you should know the truth.”

At hearing this, Bickslow and Evergreen became distraught. Evergreen leaned against Bickslow, and he held her, but they said nothing. For a moment, Laxus was silent too. But then he said, “I never wanted this. I just wanted this guild to be strong.” The others waited for him to continue, but he stopped there. He just looked down at the ground.

Makarov cleared his throat and said “Laxus, you and I need to speak in private. Right now.” Laxus slowly nodded without saying anything, and turned to follow Makarov out the door. As they both were leaving, Porlyusica said, “Freed will need to be taken to the Magnolia Hospital. There’s not much else I can do for him now.” Makarov nodded and said, “thank you for everything you’ve done”, and then exited the room followed by Laxus. On their way out, they saw Natsu standing nearby, leaning against a wall with arms folded. Makarov stopped and turned to Natsu.

“How much did you hear, Natsu?” he asked.

“Enough.” Natsu said. Natsu didn’t look at either of them, just kept staring at the ground. Natsu appeared uncharacteristically lost in thought. “We’ll talk later.” Makarov said. Natsu gave no response. Makarov and Laxus continued on to a private room to talk.

***  
Out in the main hall, most of the tables were occupied, with Mirajane serving drinks and food. Despite the ordeal earlier in the day, many of them were committed to relaxing and having some fun. This was still supposed to be a festival after all. Most of them were not yet aware of how grave Freed’s condition was. Makarov had asked the few who did know to wait until tomorrow to tell the others. He felt that telling them about it tonight wouldn’t do any good. For the moment, he wanted to let them have some fun. Besides, he was still holding out hope that Freed’s condition wasn’t as dire as Porlyusica had said, and that she was wrong in her diagnosis. Although, he knew that this was unlikely.

Near the center of the hall, Lucy, Levy, Gray, and Juvia were all sitting at a table together. Lucy had met up with Levy when they got back to the guild, and they started talking. Lucy then invited Gray over to talk. And finally, Juvia invited herself to sit with them when she saw Gray there. Gray was the only one of the group drinking at the moment. “I can’t believe I missed out on the whole thing.” Gray said.

“Me too. But at least we were together, darling.” said Juvia. Gray rolled his eyes, and decided to ignore her comment. Tonight, he wasn’t interested in dealing with her one-sided infatuation with him. “So, what did I miss? I heard some of the broad strokes, but I wouldn’t mind hearing a few more details. What happened with you two, specifically?” Gray asked Lucy and Levy. The two girls exchanged a glance, silently debating which of them should go first. Lucy decided to start.

“Well, I ended up having to fight Evergreen. It wasn’t easy.”

“But you won, right?” Gray asked.

“Yeah, but… I get the feeling I mainly won because she didn’t take me seriously. She wasn’t putting in her best effort, because she thought that she didn’t need to.”

“I’m sure that’s not true Lucy. You have some impressive magic.” Levy said reassuringly.

“She kept saying that I was weak, and pathetic. Called me ‘the weak link of the strongest team’. You know, maybe I will have something to drink. Where’s Mirajane?”

After taking a sip of beer, Gray said “It was probably just trash talk. People do that all the time in fights. I wouldn’t worry about it.” Lucy smiled weakly and said “Yeah. Maybe you’re right. Just trash talk.” but didn’t sound entirely convinced.

Juvia, getting tired of not saying anything, decided to speak up. “Well, it doesn’t sound like it was as bad as it could have been. I wouldn’t have minded practicing some of my magic if I had gotten the chance. But what about you Levi? Did you do anything noteworthy?” Juvia said, turning to Levy.

“Levy. My name is Levy.” Levy said.

“That’s what I said.” said Juvia.

“… Anyway, I ended up getting trapped with Cana and Max. Lucy helped us out of that one. Too late for Max though.” Levy shrugged. “But later we ran into Laxus fighting Natsu. There was fire and lighting everywhere! Kinda scary. And Mystogan was there too.”

“You saw Mystogan?” Gray asked.

“Yeah. Apparently, he and Laxus were fighting before Natsu showed up. But when the rest of us got there he refused to help. I asked him to help us, and he was like ‘No, I have to go do ninja stuff’, and just disappeared. Literally disappeared right in front of me. The jerk!” Lucy giggled at Levy’s description of events.

“I don’t think those were his exact words.” Lucy said.

“Well, that was the gist of it.” Levy replied.

“Mystogan has always been pretty mysterious. He really doesn’t seem to want anyone to see his face.” Gray said.

“Well he better have a damn good reason.” Levy said.

“Maybe he’s ugly.” Juvia suggested.

“Uh huh.” Levy replied.

“Seriously, where is Mira? I could at least use something to eat.” Lucy said.

“She’s a couple tables over. She’ll probably be here in a minute, she’s just really busy.” Gray explained.

“Yeah, I know. I’m not trying to be impatient; I just haven’t had anything to eat all day.” Lucy said.

Just then, Laxus came walking down the aisle. Most people suddenly stopped chatting, and turned to look at him. Laxus ignored their stares and kept walking. He got to the door and opened it. He turned around and looked behind him, seeing Makarov standing a few yards back, watching him go. They looked at each other for a moment, grandfather and grandson. And then Laxus turned back towards the open door and walked out, shutting it behind him. Makarov stood there with a regretful expression on his face.

Bickslow and Evergreen entered the hall from the back, and quickly walked up to Makarov together. “Master, please reconsider kicking Laxus out. I know he’s sorry.” Bickslow said. “Under the circumstances you could consider showing leniency.” Evergreen chimed in.

“The ‘circumstances’ are why I had to expel him.” Makarov said, walking away. The two Thunder Legion members followed behind him, still pleading their case. As the three of them left the room, things settled back to normal again. The four friends sitting at the table all exchanged looks with each other.

“So, Laxus is gone. Somehow, I didn’t expect that. But I guess I should have, with everything that’s happened.” Levy said.

“Yeah, I mean he did forcibly try to take over the guild. And threaten to destroy Magnolia. And got a lot of people hurt in the process. I don’t blame the master for showing him the door.” Lucy said.

“Yeah, its not really a surprise for me. I mean, I never had any personal beef with Laxus, but he always had a reputation for being an asshole. Besides, his father was expelled a long time ago too. Like father, like son.” Gray mused.

Juvia shrugged. “Well, I never knew the man, outside of reputation. He was one of the big S-class mages though, wasn’t he? Won’t losing him be a blow to the guild?”

Gray made a derisive sound at that. “Not really. He rarely helped the guild. Usually just looked out for himself and his Thunder Legion. Come to think of it, we don’t really have any dependable S-class mages right now. Laxus is gone, Mystogan shows up whenever the hell he feels like it, Gildarts is off… nobody knows where, and probably won’t be back anytime soon. Mirajane used to be S-class, but then Lisanna… Gray trailed off. “And of course, Erza is gone too.” He finished. They sat there in silence a moment. The conversation had suddenly turned dark.

Lucy decided to attempt steering it back towards a lighter topic. “So, are there going to be any new S-class promotions soon? I haven’t been here as long as some of you guys, so I don’t know exactly how that works.”

“We do that with S-class trials, and that’s a while off from now.” Gray said. Lucy nodded at this. She was glad to be in the company of friends, no matter the circumstances. As she was thinking this, she suddenly noticed Natsu walking down the aisle. Unlike Laxus, Natsu didn’t get a lot of stares. Apparently, what happened today had put Natsu’s previous outbursts out of people’s minds.

As Natsu walked by the table they were sitting at, Gray said “Natsu, you haven’t been here much lately. Can’t say that’s a bad thing.” Lucy gave Gray a dirty look. Gray just shrugged. “Whatever Gray. I’ve got nothing to say to you.” Natsu responded.

“You just did, genius.” Gray said. Before Natsu could respond, Lucy smacked the table, startling everyone. “So, Natsu, we were all telling each other about what happened today. The battles we had. You fought Bickslow right? Tell us about that. Have a seat.” Gray gave Natsu a sneering look, and opened his mouth to say something (likely provocative) to Natsu, but Lucy kicked Gray under the table, prompting him to give her a dirty look in return.

“No thanks Lucy.” Natsu said. “I don’t really feel like it. Look, I’m gonna take off. Maybe go home and get some rest.” Everyone at the table was aware that this sounded unlike Natsu. Normally he’d be eating and socializing with the rest of the guild, regardless of what had happened earlier. They all exchanged concerned glances, even Gray. “See you later.” Natsu said. But before he could leave, Lucy grabbed his arm. He stopped and turned to look at her.

“Wait Natsu, before you go… can we talk soon? You and me, I mean? There are some things I’d really like to talk with you about. The sooner the better.” Lucy said. Natsu considered this for a moment, and said “Sure Lucy, we can talk soon.”

“Promise?” Lucy said, looking up at him seriously.

“Promise.” Natsu assured her.

Lucy let go of his arm, a little embarrassed she was still holding it. “Anyway… good night Natsu.” She said. “Night, Lucy.” He responded. He turned and walked out the door, leaving things as they were. As Lucy turned back to the table, Mirajane walked up to them. “Hi guys.” She said. “Sorry about the wait. What can I get you?”

***  
It was now dark out, and Lucy was walking back home. She was passing by the canal where people had warned her numerous times that she might fall in. The stars were bright in the otherwise dark sky. There was a cool breeze in the air. It was a nice night, and Lucy thought it felt good after a hectic and stressful day like this one.

Lucy was happy that she got to unwind and talk with friends earlier. It was fun, mostly. She was becoming increasingly concerned about Natsu though. Before, she had dismissed his unusual behavior as something that would pass if he were left alone. But now, with the conversation she had overheard between him and Makarov earlier, she was less sure. Maybe Happy was right about him. This was why she was so insistent on wanting to speak to him. She wasn’t really sure what she was going to say though. Maybe she would have a better idea after a good, long night of sleep.

Lucy arrived at her apartment building, and walked inside. She walked up the stairs, looking forward to laying down on her bed waiting for her on the other side of the door. She unlocked the door and opened it. Upon stepping in, she quickly noticed that there was someone inside her apartment. A brief flash of panic, before just as quickly realizing that the person in question was Natsu, sitting on the bed she was just thinking about. The alarm she had felt suddenly turned to annoyance. Entering her apartment uninvited was something Natsu had had a habit of doing, and it always irritated her.

“What are you doing in here, and in the middle of the night!?” she demanded. She folded her arms and waited for a response. Natsu didn’t immediately respond. After waiting a moment for an explanation, Lucy noticed the serious expression on Natsu’s face. The annoyance Lucy felt subsided, and the concern she earlier felt returned. “Natsu?” she asked more quietly.

Natsu stood up, and looked her in the eye. “You said you wanted to talk. Soon. So here I am. Let’s talk.” Lucy was caught off guard by this. “Well, yeah, but I didn’t expect you to show up here tonight. I thought we would talk tomorrow, or at least in the next few days. Plus, I am kind of tired…” She said.

“Sorry Lucy, but if you want to talk, then it has to be tonight.” Natsu said plainly.

“Why is that?” Lucy asked, confused. Natsu paused for a moment, and broke eye contact with her. “Because I’m leaving.” He told her. Now Lucy felt even more confused.

“What do you mean you’re ‘leaving’? Leaving where?”

“I can’t tell you that. But I want you to know, I’m probably going to be gone for a while. Maybe a long while. And I’m leaving tonight.” He said.

Lucy’s concern was now growing. “Wait, slow down. This is coming out of nowhere. You can’t just say you’re leaving just like that, and not tell me anything. Natsu, we’re supposed to be guildmates. More than that, we’re teammates.” Natsu just maintained his intense expression. Lucy tried again. “Natsu… We’re supposed to be friends.” Lucy looked at him, becoming upset.

Natsu looked back at her, his expression softening. “We are all of those things Lucy. Teammates, and friends. I don’t want to hurt you. That’s why I didn’t want to tell you.”

“You weren’t even going to tell me? You were just going to leave without saying goodbye?”

Natsu didn’t answer her. He looked out of her window, although she wasn’t sure what he was looking at, or if he was just avoiding the question. “At least tell me _why_ you’re doing this.” Lucy said.

After staring out the window a moment longer, Natsu turned back to her. “Did you hear about Freed?”

“Freed? I know he was hurt pretty bad, but Porlyusica healed him, right?” Lucy said.

Natsu shook his head. “He’s in a coma. Might never wake up. I’m pretty sure they said he has brain damage too.”

Lucy was surprised by this. She didn’t think Freed’s condition was quite that dire. She knew he had been hurt badly, but assumed that once the healer got to him, he would by fine. If not immediately, then eventually. “Oh my god. I can’t believe that. There’s nothing they can do?”

“Doesn’t seem like it. Anything’s possible I guess.” Natsu said.

“Is that why you’re leaving? Because of what happened to Freed, and the stuff Laxus did?” Lucy asked.

“No. Its not because of Freed. Or Laxus. At least, that’s not the main reason.”

Lucy’s expression turned pensive. “Then its because of Erza. Natsu, I know you said you don’t want to talk about it, but if you’re going to leave…”

“We can talk about it when I come back.” He replied. Natsu turned around towards the door. Lucy was afraid that he was just going to leave right then. Out of desperation, she blurted out something she had been afraid to say.

“Natsu, I overheard you and master Makarov talking earlier, in the alley. You were talking about ‘saving Erza’, and dark magic. I don’t really understand it, but it sounds… wrong.” Natsu remained silent as Lucy said this. His back remained turned to her. “Master said that he couldn’t believe you would do something like that. And I can’t believe it either. It doesn’t sound like you.” Lucy finished.

For a minute, Natsu said nothing. He just stood there. Lucy waited for him to say something. There was a part of her that was hoping that any moment now, he would turn around and say that this whole thing was just a big joke, and he wasn’t actually leaving, and everything would just go back to normal. And then tomorrow she would walk into the guild and find Erza and Freed there, both alive and healthy. And all of this would seem like a bad dream…

Lucy’s fantasy was finally broken by Natsu. “Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think you do.” he said in response to her last comment. He turned back to face her. “You’re right about one thing though; you don’t understand. But you will. You just need to trust me.”

“How can I trust you if you don’t trust me?” she said in small voice. Natsu moved closer to her. “Its better this way. This is something I need to do alone. I’m sorry. You’ll understand, someday.”

“Can you at least tell me when you’ll be back?”

“I don’t know. If I come back, it probably won’t be anytime soon.”

“If? Natsu…”

This was a lot for Lucy to process all at once. She was still dealing with the loss of Erza recently. And now in the past twenty-four hours Laxus tried to take over the guild, and got kicked out. Freed is in a coma he might never wake up from. Natsu tells her he’s leaving, to do who knows what, and won’t tell her when, or even if, he’ll return. It was too much for her to handle right now. She had no words.

“Lucy, do me one favor: don’t tell anyone at the guild about this, at least right away. Even Happy. Wait a week or so.” He put his hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. Not a big smile, but a sincere one. “I plan to come back someday Lucy. And everything will be better. You’ll see.” He then turned around, and walked to her door, opening it. She still didn’t know what to say at this point. He started down the stairs, and walked towards the front door. He turned back up to look at her, while she was standing at the top of the stairs looking down at him. “Tell Happy I’ll see him again too. And I’m sorry I had to leave him behind.”

“Natsu…” was all Lucy said.

After looking up at her for another moment, Natsu turned and walked out the door. Lucy walked down the stairs, and stood at the door, watching him walk away.

Later on, Lucy would sometimes think back to this moment, and wonder how different things might have been if she had done something different. If she had followed him. Or, if she had tried harder to convince him to stay, telling him how much she needed him. Or if she had ignored his wishes and told someone at the guild so they could chase after him. _Something_. But she didn’t do any of those things. Instead, she just stood there, watching him walk out of her life, not knowing if she was ever going to see him again.

Lucy, now feeling numb, just stood in the doorway, watching Natsu gradually recede into the distance. She stood there watching him until she could no longer see him. And then she was alone. Lucy didn’t know what to do now. So, she just closed her eyes, and felt the cool night breeze gently blowing around her. It was a nice night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't entirely satisfied with the way the last chapter turned out. I tried to combine the tone and style I'm trying to achieve with this story with what you would normally expect from the canon, and I'm not sure it entirely meshed. As usual, any feedback would be appreciated.
> 
> I plan to add some more tags too. When I first started writing this, I wasn't sure if it was just going to be a short story, or something longer. Now that I'm apparently committed to writing a longer story, I feel that I should add some additional tags to give a clearer idea of what to expect from this story going forward. But there are still some things I would like to keep a surprise for now.
> 
> Having said that, given some of the things that have already happened, I'm wondering if I should add a "dark fic" tag. I don't want to give the impression that this story will be a total grim fest, because that's not my intent. But I do plan on going for an overall darker tone than the canon.


	7. Encounter

Nearly two months have passed since the day that Natsu Dragneel walked away from Fairy Tail. Lucy had done as Natsu requested, and waited to tell the others about his intentions (vague as they had been). Happy was upset that Natsu just left again, and after Happy had just found him. Gray just seemed more annoyed than anything. As for Makarov; he chose not to speak on it. Whenever he was asked about it, he would either change the subject or just not say anything. Nobody knew if this was because he was angry with Natsu, or if it was something else.

The guild as a whole made efforts to continue on as normal. But things had changed. Erza was dead. Freed was in a coma. Natsu had left. Laxus was expelled. All these things happening in such a short period of time had taken a toll on the morale of the guild. Fairy Tail’s position as the top magic guild in Fiore was starting to seem tenuous. There was talk amongst some of the less loyal members of the guild that maybe it was time to move on to greener pastures.

Lucy was particularly affected by Natsu’s departure. For the first few weeks, she had held out hope that Natsu would return soon, despite what he had said. She kept thinking that any day now he would walk through the front door of the guildhall, and some semblance of normalcy would return. She even decided to put off taking any guild jobs for a few weeks. She wanted to wait until they were a team again to start back up again. She almost got kicked out of her apartment for not paying rent. Fortunately, Mirajane convinced some of the other members to give her some of their extra money for rent, in addition to Mirajane making her own contribution. Lucy appreciated this, but felt guilty about her friends paying for her rent like that. So, she started taking jobs again. She tried doing solo jobs, without much success. She had completed a couple of them, with difficulty. But she knew that her friends wouldn’t have had so much difficulty. She had become acutely aware of her own limitations without her team around to back her up.

She decided to ask Gray if he was willing to team up. It obviously wouldn’t be the same as before, but she needed some kind of help, and as far as she knew he hadn’t joined another team. Gray had also been taking solo missions, but he had had greater success then her. When Lucy asked Gray the question, he was reluctant. But he did say yes, after some prodding. They ended up taking a job request for dealing with some aggressive wildlife a few miles from the city. It didn’t sound too difficult.

***  
Gray and Lucy caught a ride on a horse drawn carriage that took them close to their destination. They still had to walk the last mile though. The place they ended up in was a wooded area, off the road. The leaves had changed color to brown, and orange, and red, giving the local foliage a striking appearance. The afternoon sun was beaming down through the trees, creating contrasts of light and shadow on the ground.

Lucy and Gray walked together through the woods, in search of the objective. “So, this ‘aggressive wildlife’ is supposed to be around here somewhere, right? Cause so far, I’m not seeing anything too bad. Unless you’re afraid of squirrels and woodpeckers.” Gray said. Lucy, walking a little behind Gray, appeared unfazed by Gray’s comment. “I’m sure they’re around here somewhere. The description said that the creatures were further into the woods. It mentioned a clearing near a river.”

Suddenly, a third voice behind them spoke up. “Is this really the best job you guys could find? Seems like kind of a waste of time.” It was Happy the cat. He had joined them on their mission, at Lucy’s request. Gray didn’t see the point in bringing Happy with them, since he had no real magical abilities besides flying. But Lucy had suggested that Happy could use his flight to help search the area if they needed it. And, even though she didn’t say it out loud, she felt a little better having Happy here with them. This was the closest they were going to get to having the old team back together for the foreseeable future.

“Who asked you?” Said Gray in response to Happy’s question.

“The description did say that these animals were pretty vicious, and had attacked several people. Apparently one woman went missing here recently.” Lucy said.

“Think she’s dead?” Gray asked.

“Well, I hope not. But if she is, then that just gives us more reason to deal with this.”

“You sound pretty confident, Lucy.” Gray said.

“Yeah well, we are mages after all. We should be able to deal with a few wild dogs or something, after some of the stuff we’ve done.”

Happy started flying between them, to make it easier to join in the conversation. “Wild dogs? Is that what they are?”

Lucy furrowed her brow. “I’m not actually sure. That part was kind of vague. Something about a big beast with fangs. And maybe some birds too.”

“Birds?” Gray asked.

“Yeah. So… dogs and birds? Which sounds kind of weird now that I think about it.”

“Must be something in the water.” Gray said, not taking this entirely seriously. There was supposed to be a decent reward though, so he was willing to go along with it. Gray stopped, and turned to Happy. “Look Happy, since you’re here, you might as well make yourself useful, and fly around above a little. See if you can spot anything.”

Happy looked at Gray a moment. He then said “Aye, sir.” a little half-heartedly. He spread his wings and took off into the sky. Lucy and Gray both watched him fly off above them, and then he picked a direction and flew off horizontally. And now, the two of them were alone until Happy got back. Since they had to wait for him to report back to them, they knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to move elsewhere for the moment. So, they stood and waited.

It was a nice, cool day out. Under different circumstances they would likely enjoy it. In this situation though, there was an awkward silence between the two of them. Gray and Lucy had been friends for a while. And yet, they had never really been close. Their friendship was mostly based around the team they were a part of. And now that half the team was gone, neither of them were really sure what to make of their relationship at this point.

Lucy was sitting down on a small boulder in the ground, hands on her knees. Gray was standing a few yards away, leaning against a tree with his arms folded. Lucy stared down at the ground, while Gray slowly turned his head from one direction to another, apparently scanning the area. They stayed quietly like this for a few minutes, and the awkward silence grew. Finally, Lucy decided to try starting a conversation, if only to give them something to do until Happy returned.

“So… Nice weather, huh?” Lucy offered. Gray just shrugged and said, “I guess.” Gray didn’t offer anything further. After a few moments, Lucy decided to try again. “So, Gray… How are things between you and Juvia?” Lucy asked. Gray turned to look at Lucy with a slightly annoyed expression.

“There aren’t any ‘things’ between me and Juvia. Except in her mind.” He said firmly.

“You don’t like her?” Lucy asked.

Gray sighed impatiently. “I don’t hate her or anything. But she’s a loon. And kind of creepy.”

“That’s not very nice. She only says good things about you.”

“Whatever. Why do you care about this, Lucy?” Gray questioned. Lucy said nothing for a minute. Truthfully, she didn’t really care that much about Gray and Juvia’s relationship (or lack thereof). She just couldn’t think of anything else to talk about with him. Except Natsu, and neither of them really wanted to talk about that.

Finally, Lucy responded. “If you don’t want a relationship with her, why don’t you just tell her that? Make it clear you want her to stay away from you?”

Gray looked at her seriously. “Easier said than done. Look, I want her to back off, but I don’t want to crush her or anything. Its hard. Besides, you’re not exactly upfront about your feelings yourself. And don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about, because you do.” Lucy briefly wondered if he said that to get back at her for her bringing up Juvia. She stood up to face him.

“Yeah Gray, I do know what you’re talking about. That’s why I think you should be honest with Juvia. I learned the hard way that its important to tell people how you really feel about them, while you still have the chance.” The short speech came out a little more emotional than she intended. The two of them stood there a moment, the awkward silence creeping back in. “Anyway, I just think its better for her to know the truth now instead of waiting for something that won’t happen.” Lucy finished, in a quieter voice.

Gray considered this for a moment. “…Yeah, maybe.” he said, also quietly. It seemed there was nothing further to say on the subject for the moment. “Damnit, what’s taking Happy so long? He should have found something by now.” he said. They both looked around, but couldn’t see him, or hear him. “Maybe we should start looking for him? I could call one of my spirits to help.” Lucy suggested. Before Gray could answer, they heard something approaching from the trees nearby. It was coming towards them rapidly from the sound of it. Gray and Lucy both prepared themselves for an attack. Then, Happy came bursting out of the trees. He stopped short and fell to the ground when he saw the attack stances.

“Its only me guys!” the cat said. Gray and Lucy exchanged a look, unsure of what to make of Happy’s entrance. “So, what did you find?” Gray asked, a little impatiently. Happy paused a moment to catch his breath, and then stood up. “Guys, I think this is going to be more dangerous than I thought. I saw something pretty freaky.”

“What do you mean?” Gray asked.

“Yeah Happy, what’s wrong? What did you see?” Lucy joined in.

“Well, I flew around for a little while, and didn’t see anything unusual. Until I found this clearing with a cave. I flew in closer, but then this big bird came after me out of nowhere!” Happy explained.

“A big bird? What did it look like?” Lucy said.

“Yeah, and how big?” Gray added.

“Definitely bigger than me! As for what it looked like; It had green feathers and a big beak. Seemed to have some spikes or something on the points of its wings, but it was hard to tell since I was trying to not get killed. But that’s not all. There was something creepy about it. Its eyes were red, and it looked like patches of feathers were missing. And I think its eyes glowed a little too. I mean, I’ve never seen that kind of bird before, but it looked like there was something wrong with it.”

Happy finished his explanation, and the other two listened, not sure what to make of this. “Maybe its sick, or badly injured?” Lucy said. Gray furrowed his brow for a moment, and said, “Are you sure there was just one? Is it possible there’s more?”

“I thought I might have heard other bird noises nearby, but I only saw the one. Like I said, I was busy trying not to die. It was pretty vicious though, and if there are more of them then we might need to get help.”

Gray made a tsk sound. “For what? An angry bird? C’mon. Even if there’s more than one, we should be able to take them.”

“Maybe, but are we just going to kill them? Maybe there’s a better way of handling it?” Lucy said.

“Remember, this thing supposedly killed at least one person, maybe more. If it’s killing people, it’ll probably need to be put down. And we accepted the job. So, let’s stop sitting around talking about it and get to work. Happy, lead the way.” Gray responded.

“Okay.” said Happy, sounding a little unsure. He lifted himself several feet off the ground with his wings, and flew back in the direction of the clearing with Lucy and Gray following behind.

***  
The trio traveled for a while towards the destination. They walked together for over a mile, until they were near the clearing. By this point it was getting late in the day for this time of year, and the sun was low on the horizon. Everything was bathed in orange. It made the environment look pretty, and yet there was also an unsettling aspect to it. It signaled that it would be dark soon. Consequently, the three of them decided that this needed to be dealt with quickly. None of them were crazy about having to deal with vicious beasts, in the woods, in the dark. Two out of three was bad enough.

They arrived at the edge of the clearing. It was larger than Gray and Lucy were expecting. In the distance, they could see a cave against a cliff face. Pretty much like Happy described it.

“This looks like the place.” Gray said. “Don’t see any beasts though. No birds, no nothing.”

“I’m telling you, I got attacked by this big, monstrous looking bird. It’s probably still here somewhere.” Happy said.

“We’ll see.” Gray replied.

“Maybe it went off somewhere else? It might have just been hunting around here or something.” Lucy suggested. Without saying anything else, Gray started walking out into the middle of the clearing. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Lucy said.

“I want to get this over with. Besides, I can handle a bird or two.” Gray replied. Lucy frowned, and Happy appeared apprehensive. They both felt Gray was being a little too reckless, while Gray thought they were making a big deal over nothing. Gray got to the middle, out in the open, the sun making him quite visible. He stood there, turned from one direction to another, with his arms outstretched, as if daring something to attack him. Lucy and Happy didn’t see or hear anything. In fact, it was very quiet. Not even a wind. Lucy wondered if this was a good sign or a bad sign.

Gray turned back to them and said, “I’m going over to the cave to check it out. You coming or not?” He turned around and started towards the cave, not bothering to wait for a reply. Lucy looked at Happy. “I’m going with Gray. You can stay here as a lookout though” Happy considered this. “Actually, I think I’ll go with you two. Don’t really feel like standing here all alone.” Lucy smiled. “Okay then, let’s go.” They both set off, quickly catching up to Gray.

The three of them stood at the mouth of the cave. Naturally, it was dark inside. Because of the angle of the sunlight, it was a little hard to see. Lucy had brought a lantern though, just in case. She grabbed it and lit it. The cave was mildly illuminated by the light. “It doesn’t look that deep.” Gray observed. He slowly walked in, followed by the others. “Lucy, give me the lantern, I’ll take point.” He said. “You sure?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’ll take care of anything that comes along. You just stay behind me.” Lucy shifted uncomfortably. Gray turned back to her. “Lucy?” he said.

She hesitated. “You know what, I’ll carry it. I’ll go first, its fine.” said Lucy. Gray looked at her a moment, and just shrugged. “Okay, whatever.” he said. Lucy held the lantern as the three of them looked around. As Gray had pointed out, the cave was not that large. Big enough to hide in, but not big enough to get lost in. It was mostly hard, cold stone, with some moss growing around. After a minute of searching, Gray made it to a far wall in the cave. “Hey Lucy, over here!” he said. She hurried over. She lifted the lantern to the place Gray was pointing. There was a cage. A big cage, with an open door. Not unlocked, but bent and broken. “What is this?” they both said almost at the same time. “Nothing good, probably.” Happy added.

Gray examined the cage. “It doesn’t look that old.” Lucy moved the lantern around, to examine the nearby wall area. “Wait, there’s something else.” She said. She moved closer. She saw another cage. And another. There were several of them. “Uh, what’s going on here?” she said, her voice a mixture of confusion and nervousness. 

“I don’t know, but I wish Natsu was here.” Happy said.

“Well he’s not. We don’t need him for this anyway.” Gray said with slight irritation. They continued looking at the cages along the wall. Lucy took a step a step to the side, and stepped on something hard. She looked down, and held the lantern to it. It was a small pile of bones. Lucy made a startled sound, which attracted the attention of the other two. “Well look at that. Maybe we just found the missing woman.” Gray said.

“Are you sure they’re human bones? It could be animal bones.” Lucy said nervously.

“Well, there’s no skull, so its hard to tell. But its not a good sign.” The other two were feeling less enthusiastic about this job by now. Regardless, they had a job to do, so they went back to searching.

“So, I’m not the only one thinking it right?” Lucy said. “This ‘beast’ attacking people probably came from one of these cages. And there’s several of them.” Gray and Happy considered this. “Maybe they’re still close by.” Gray said.

“Think that bird I saw earlier is one of them?” Happy asked.

“Maybe. Probably.” Gray said. As they were talking, Lucy walked over to another wall close by. She saw another, bigger cage. It looked like it had been filled in with dirt. Getting closer, it looked more like a boulder. She held up the lantern to examine it. It had… spikes on it? Lucy squinted. She reached out her hand to touch it. An eye opened. She recoiled in alarm. The “boulder” lifted its horned head and turned towards her. It opened its jaw, revealing sharp teeth. Lucy fell back onto the floor. She fumbled for a key to use. The creature advanced on her, and she screamed.

Suddenly, something struck the monstrous creature in the shoulder. It stepped back and growled. It was an ice spear, obviously created by Gray. He ran over and helped Lucy up. “You okay?” he asked. “I think so. But that thing…” she said. Recovering, it charged at them. Gray launched a sharp ice disk at it. The creature managed to grab it in its teeth and smash it.

Lucy found a key. She used it. By that point though, Gray had created an ice wall, freezing the creature in place. Lucy looked at it. It still looked quite malevolent. She then looked at the spirit she summoned. “How may I help you, princess?” Virgo the maiden asked.

“Uhh… sorry Virgo, looks like it’s already over.” Lucy said. Virgo, dressed in her usual maid outfit, along with her distinctive pink hair and blue eyes, turned towards the creature. “Hmm. So it would seem.” she said.

Gray looked at the frozen beast. “Alright, so what the hell is it?” They all gazed at the beast. None of them recognized what species it was off the top of their heads. It was large and quadrupedal, with a hard, scaley back. Its eyes were pure white, giving it a corpse like appearance. The spikes growing out of it appeared to have painful looking rupture marks around them. They weren’t sure if this was natural or not. Something about it looked wrong though. Unnatural.

“Beats me. I’ll have to look it up when we get back to the guild.” Lucy said. Her heart was still pounding, but she was glad it was over. Or so she thought. To their surprise, the creature suddenly broke out of the ice, smashing it to pieces. It growled loudly. Gray prepared another ice make spell. Before he could use it, the creature quickly jumped at him, clamping its large jaw down on his arm. Gray fell, with the animal still attached. Even though Gray couldn’t complete the spell he intended, he did at least manage to create some protective ice around his arm. But that wouldn’t help for long. Lucy grabbed her whip and used it on the creature. It blinked, but that’s all. It bit down harder, breaking the ice. Gray tried to roll away before it could bite down, but part of his arm still got caught in its teeth. He cried out.

Lucy turned to Virgo. “Do something!” Virgo nodded. She used her magic to tunnel beneath the cave. Meanwhile, Gray’s arm was bleeding, with the monster’s teeth sunk into flesh and muscle. He punched it in the eye repeatedly, which only made it angry. But then, the ground beneath them began to shake. A hole opened beneath the creature. It fell into it, still locked onto Gray. He cried in pain again as the thing dragged him down.

“No!” Lucy cried. Suddenly, the hole closed around the creature, trapping it. Gray was still trapped too though. His arm was looking bad. With only one arm it was more difficult for him to cast magic. It was also more difficult to concentrate through the pain. Nonetheless he used his free hand to create ice around the creatures head, including it nostrils. This finally caused it to let go. Gray quickly moved away from it, clutching his arm with his other hand.

By this point Virgo was back above ground. The creature was already smashing through the ice again by smashing its head against the ground. “Virgo, take it out!” Lucy said. “Right.” Virgo confirmed. She used the chains around her wrists to pummel the creature until it was unconscious. At least, Lucy thought it was just unconscious. It was hard to tell.

“Uh, thanks. Good job. A little brutal though.” Lucy said.

“So was the creature.” Virgo said, turning to Gray. “Oh shit, Gray!” Lucy said, running over to him. He was gritting his teeth and clutching his arm with his good hand. Lucy moved towards him as if to help, but then slowly withdrew when she realized she couldn’t really do much to help him. She had no medical knowledge, and her spirits couldn’t help either. Happy stood nearby, feeling even more helpless. “We need to get you help.” Lucy said.

“Yeah, that’d be good.” Gray answered in a strained voice. He got to his feet with effort. “We still haven’t finished the job though. I don’t like leaving things unfinished.”

“That’s not important right now.” Lucy replied. “Do you need us to help you walk?”

“I can manage.”

The four of them walked towards the mouth of the cave. Lucy decided to keep Virgo for the moment, just in case. On the way out, they suddenly noticed another cage they had missed. It was the only one still locked. It contained a creature that looked very similar to the one they just fought. It was a good thing both creatures weren’t loose.

They walked out of the cave, into a noticeably darker outside than when they entered. The sky was twilight, and the temperature had dropped a little. They began moving back the way they came. The grass rustled beneath their feet. No animal sounds though. Not even insects. Pretty quiet. Lucy, becoming unnerved, said “maybe we should pick up the pace.”

As they approached the trees, they suddenly saw a movement. There was a large figure above them, sitting in a branch. They stopped and readied themselves for another fight. The figure made a loud caw sound. “I think that’s your bird, Happy.” Gray said dryly. “Why does it have to be _my_ bird?” Happy replied.

But then, they noticed two other figures nearby. In the fading light and shadows from the trees it was a little hard to tell, but they seemed to have the green feathers that Happy had mentioned. Lucy looked closer at the nearest one. “What… is wrong with it? It looks twisted, or mutated or something.” The bird she was looking at had an elongated, uneven beak. One of its eyes was pure white, like the other creature. There was a streak of black down a section of its feathers. The black feathers also looked more leathery then the rest. “Yeah, there’s definitely something wrong with them.” Gray said.

The birds began making more aggressive movements. They screeched loudly. Faintly, they could hear another in the distance, so they knew there was at least one more around somewhere. “I say we get out of here.” Lucy said. “Yeah…” Gray reluctantly agreed. He didn’t like backing down form a fight, but he knew in this case it was the best option.

“Happy, can you fly us out of here?” Lucy asked.

“All three of you?” Happy asked incredulously.

“Well, me and Gray. Virgo has a quicker exit.”

“Still…”

Just then, the birds lifted into the air, flapping their wings. One of them dove towards Lucy. She jumped out of the way. Virgo moved to protect her. Despite the pain, Gray prepared a spell. The other birds joined in the attack. They all flew towards the group. Gray launched his attack, creating an ice wall just as the large birds were swooping in. One of the birds was trapped in the ice wall, the other two stopped just short of it. “Now Happy!” Lucy said. Happy flew, and grabbed Gray and Lucy both. “I’ll distract them!” Virgo said below. She prepared an attack as the birds turned to chase Happy. Virgo jumped into the air and kicked one of them. It didn’t seem very hurt by it despite Virgo’s strength. But at least it was a distraction. Happy tore out of there as fast as he could. Which wasn’t as fast as he would have liked, carrying two people. All three of them headed back to Magnolia City. Happy flew for a few minutes before they stopped hearing the birds.

***  
While Gray, Lucy, and Happy were off on their adventure, Mirajane was in the shopping district, looking for supplies for the guild. She wasn’t alone though. She had asked her brother Elfman to come along and help her. Despite his protests that shopping wasn’t very manly, he eventually agreed. She had asked him partly because she had been busy with things lately, and could use the help. But also because she hadn’t seen him much lately. He was often doing jobs somewhere. She wanted a chance to spend some time with her family, and Elfman was the only family she had. Not counting her larger “Fairy Tail family”, of course.

The two of them were currently walking through the busy streets, on their way to pick up some supplies, including more alcohol for the guild. “You know, it seems like half the alcohol in this guild gets drunk by Cana.” Elfman said.

“As long as she pays for it.” Mirajane replied. “You know, maybe we could make a detour and go clothes shopping.”

Elfman groaned. “Ugh, I knew you were going to say that. The clothes I have are fine.”

“They’re a bit drab. I mean, they look good on you, but maybe something a little more colorful?” If most other people suggested something like that to him, he might get annoyed. But Mirajane was his sister, and she said it sweetly and with a smile. He averted his eyes. “Eh, maybe.” he replied. Her smile widened. 

They turned a corner, and came upon a bunch of stalls. The stalls had a variety of things; clothes, food, jewelry (in glass cases of course), and even a magical item stall. They both stopped to look. “Ooh, maybe we could pick up something here.” Mirajane said.

“I don’t know if I want to carry a bunch of stuff around while running an errand. But I wouldn’t mind getting something to eat.” Elfman replied. He started walking over to the food stall, and Mirajane followed. Elfman looked at the selection. “Lots of meats here. There’s time for a quick bite, right?”

“Sure. I’m not hungry though.” She replied. Elfman began looking through the selection. Mirajane let her gaze wander to the other wares. She looked over at the magical item stall across the street. Not that she particularly needed one, but she was curious what they might have. Mirajane noticed there was only one patron at that stall at the moment. It was a little girl, about ten or eleven years old. She was seemingly all by herself, no family or friends around. This struck Mirajane as odd. What was even more odd, was that the girl seemed to be staring straight at Elfman. Elfman, having purchased a sausage on a bun, walked over to Mirajane.

“This is pretty good! I could give you half if you want.”

“No thanks.” She said. The little girl was still staring at Elfman. And was now walking over towards the two of them. Elfman didn’t notice. She came up just a few feet from Elfman, and pointed at him. No, not at him, at the Fairy Tail guild mark on his neck. “You’re from Fairy Tail!” she said bluntly, but in a cute sounding voice. Elfman finally noticed her, and looked down. “Uh, yeah?” he said. Elfman wasn’t sure how to deal with strange kids. Mirajane took the lead.

“Yes, we are from Fairy Tail. Are you a fan of the guild?” Mirajane asked. The girl turned to Mirajane, looking unsure. “A fan? Well…” After a moment, the little girl recovered, and smiled. “I’ve heard of your guild. It’s the strongest in Fiore, right?” the little girl asked. Mirajane considered the girl. She was wearing strange clothes. A long white robe, with purple and gold decorations, and a hood hanging off the back. She was wearing sandals, and was carrying a backpack. She had long dark hair, and grey eyes. She was probably a foreigner, Mirajane decided.

“Yes, Fairy Tail is the strongest.” Mirajane said.

“And you’re both members? Are you important? What are your names?” she asked inquisitively. Some people might find a child asking so many questions annoying, but Mirajane just thought it was cute. Mirajane cleared her throat. “Well, my name is Mirajane Strauss, and this is my brother Elfman.” She said. Elfman held up a hand as if to say “hi”. The little girl's face changed. She looked… surprised? Delighted? 

“Elfman, Mirajane. I’ve heard of you. I like your names, by the way. They’re funny.” The girl said. Mirajane giggled. Elfman was starting to look like he’d rather be somewhere else. “What’s your name?” Mirajane asked her. In response, the girl bowed her head and said, “My name is Seraiisa. Glad to meet you.” Elfman turned to his sister and whispered, “She’s one to talk about funny names.” Mirajane ignored him.

“Glad to meet you too. So Seraiisa, are your parents around here? Its not safe to go wandering around all by yourself.” she said.

“My parents? They’re around. Don’t worry, I’m fine.” Mirajane was unconvinced, but Elfman was becoming impatient. “She said she’s fine, Mira. She doesn’t look like she needs help. She was probably just curious.”

“I _am_ curious.” The girl interjected. “In fact, I’d like to see your guild, if that’s okay with you.”

“You’re welcome to stop by. Thinking of joining?” Mirajane asked. Seraiisa smiled. “I know a little magic. My family has been looking at different guilds, and yours sounds pretty cool. But I’m not from around here, and don’t know where everything is, so… Could you take me there?”

The Strauss siblings looked at each other. Mirajane looked back at the child. “The thing is, we’re actually busy right now. Probably for the next couple hours. I could give you directions…”

“Hmm… I’d rather go with you. I like you.”

“Oh. Well, I like you too. But…” Mirajane looked at Elfman. He was already doing her a favor by coming along on this shopping trip. He obviously didn’t want to be a babysitter too. “I’m sorry. We really are busy. I’m sure there’s someone else who can show you and your family the way.”

The little girl considered this. “I understand. If you’re busy, you’re busy.” Seraiisa raided her hands to her sides in a “what can you do” gesture. “Maybe if we run into each other again sometime you can show me.”

Mirajane smiled. “Of course. But we have to get going now. It was nice meeting you.”

“Yeah, but you should be careful about talking to strangers. Some bad people out there.” Elfman added. The little girl smiled at him and said, “I’ll remember that Elfman, thanks.” The two siblings turned and went about their errand. As they were walking away, Elfman turned to his sister. “She called me Elfman. That’s kind of weird.”

“I think its cute.” Mirajane said.

“I don’t like cute.” He said. Mirajane made a half weary and half amused face at this. Then, they both went on their way.

***  
A few hours later, Mirajane and Elfman were done with the shopping errands. Most of what they bought was being delivered to the guild later on. They also payed a few bills. Or at least, Mirajane did while Elfman stood by. They were walking back the same way they came, the sun setting in the sky. It was a nice day for a walk. Cool, but not cold. No rain or strong winds.

They both passed by the market stalls again, which were closing up for the day already. Mirajane remembered that she never got to look at that magic stall. Elfman considered that he should have bought more food. As they were thinking this, they both noticed someone standing right across from them. It was the same little girl from before. When she noticed them, she smiled and waved. “Mirajane, Elfman, you came back.” Mirajane was surprised to see her again so soon. “Were you here the whole time?”

“No. I went to meet up with my dad for a bit. But I came back here before things closed up.” The child responded.

“I see.” Mirajane said simply. Elfman folded his arms, unsure what to make of this. “Look, it was nice running into you again kid, but we’re heading back to our guild. It’s been a long day.”

“Oh. Your guild. That sounds nice. Well, have fun.” She said this with a dejected look on her face, and her arms behind her back. Mirajane looked at the girl, and felt bad for her. She wondered if the child was lying about seeing her dad, and had actually been waiting there for them to come back the whole time. She made a decision. “Since we’re going back there now anyway, why don’t you come with us? You can see the guild from the inside and out. Maybe you’ll even get to meet the master.” The little girl’s face lit up. “Thank you, I’d love that! It’ll be an honor to visit the best magic guild in the country.” Mirajane waved the girl on to follow them. Elfman, resigned, followed along with them.

***  
The three of them made it back to the guild at dusk. It made for a nice sight, seeing the big guild hall with the orange sunlight reflecting off it. There were less people than usual at the hall right now, so it wasn’t crowded. They stood outside the guild, facing the entrance. “Well, here we are!” Mirajane said. Seraiisa looked impressed. She looked the whole building over, up and down. “Awesome.” she said.

“Well, you can show her around if you want, but I’m gonna get some food and drink. See ya.” Elfman said. He stalked off into the guild. “Thanks for helping today Elfman.” Mirajane said. Elfman waved back without looking behind. Now, Mirajane was alone with the little girl.

“So, Seraiisa, what kind of magic do you do? You mentioned you knew a little?” Mirajane inquired. The child put her hand to her chin, contemplating the question. “Its hard to explain. My dad could explain it better.” Mirajane tilted her head a little. “Well, maybe you could show me? Give me a demonstration? If you want to, that is.”

“I’d like to Mirajane, but my magic is… different. I can’t just shoot stuff out of my hands, or summon things. It takes more time and effort.” Seraiisa said.

“It certainly sounds interesting.” Mirajane said.

“Maybe I’ll be able to show you how it works some other time.”

“I’d like that.”

“Me too.” Seraiisa said. “So, what about your magic? What can you do?”

Mirajane shifted a little. “That’s a long story. Let’s just say, I can’t really use my magic anymore.” Mirajane expected the little girl to ask her to elaborate on why that is, which she didn’t want to have to explain. But surprisingly she didn’t. Instead, she asked another question. “What kind of magic was it? What was it called?”

Mirajane hesitated, but then said, “Demon soul. I used demon soul takeover magic.” Seraiisa’s eyes lit up again. “Demon soul!” That sounds cool. Was it powerful?” She looked at Mirajane eagerly. Mirajane still felt uncomfortable talking about this, but humored the girl. “Yeah, it was. But, I’m sure you want to see inside the guild now.” Seraiisa nodded and said, “Uh-huh.”

Mirajane then led the girl into the guild. It was quieter than usual, which was probably a good thing. Mirajane didn’t want to scare the girl with arguing and roughhousing. Mirajane saw Elfman already siting at the bar. Gajeel was near the job board. Juvia was sitting by herself, looking a little lonely. Closer to them was Levy, sitting at a table reading a book. Mirajane decided that Levy would be the safest option, as far as having someone speak to Seraiisa.

As for Seraiisa herself, she was looking the guild over, from the floor to the rafters. She seemed to be taking in the whole thing. She looked impressed. Mirajane poked the girl on he shoulder with her finger to get her attention. “Pretty cool, huh?” Mirajane said. The girl nodded. “Yeah, pretty cool.” Mirajane pointed out Levy “That’s Levy McGarden. She’s a solid script mage. Have you heard of her?” Seraiisa shook her and said, “Nope.”

“Would you like to meet her? She’s smart and friendly.” Mirajane said.

“I do like smart and friendly.” Seraiisa said. Mirajane grinned at this comment and led her over to Levy. “Levy, I hope you don’t mind, but there’s someone here who would like to meet you. She’s interested in the guild. Her name is Seraiisa. Levy looked up, and smiled when she saw the little girl.

“Nice to meet you Seraiisa. Are you thinking of joining the guild?” Levy said. The girl smiled and said, “I’m thinking about it. My family has been looking for a place we could belong. We’re not from Fiore, you know.”

“Oh, where are you from?” Levy said. The girl opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it. She paused. She then opened her mouth again and said “Bosco.”

“Ah, that’s right across the border from Fiore.” Levy replied. Seraiisa nodded. “How long have you been in Fiore?” Levy asked.

“Not long. Everything is so different; it can be hard to adjust.” Seraiisa said.

“I didn’t realize Bosco was so different from Fiore.” Mirajane chimed in.

“Are those clothes you’re wearing common there? Don’t get me wrong, I like them. They’re pretty. But they’re not something you’d see around here.” Levy said. Levy thought Seraiisa’s attire reminded her a little of the Rune Knight grab. Less formal though. Seraiisa looked down at her attention-grabbing attire. “They’re common in certain places.” Seraiisa said vaguely. Before Levy could respond, Seraiisa pointed to Levy’s book and asked, “What are you reading?” Levy looked at her book.

“Oh, this? It’s a history book. A history of Fiore. Are you interested in history?” Levy said.

Seraiisa shrugged. “A little. But I’m more interested in the here and now, you know?” Levy smiled. “Yeah, I understand that.” But then, something seemed to occur to Seraiisa. “On the other hand, all knowledge is power, and should be valued.” Levy and Mirajane were a little surprised by that spiel from someone so young. “Its something my dad says.” Seraiisa clarified.

“Ah.” Levy said.

“He sounds like a smart man.” Mirajane added.

“He is.” Seraiisa agreed, with a hint of pride in her voice.

A few moments passed without anyone saying anything. Mirajane decided to speak up. “So, was there anything else you wanted to see?” Seraiisa thought about this for a moment. “Who are your strongest members? It’d be pretty cool to meet them. I mean, I’m sure they’re busy and stuff, but maybe just one? Mirajane furrowed her brow at this request. “Well… our most powerful members are our S-Class members, but none of them are really here right now. There’s Mystogan, who no one can find. And Gildarts, who’s been gone a long time. And Laxus got expelled…” Mirajane trailed off, not wanting to bring up Erza. “There’s also Master Makarov, but he doesn’t seem to be here right now.” The little girl stared blankly as Mirajane listed off the names.

“Have you heard of any of those people?” Levy asked. Seraiisa shook her head. Levy just said “Huh.” in response.

Seraiisa looked a little disappointed. “So, you don’t have any powerful members here right now?”

“We have some powerful mages here right now. You met Elfman, and he’s pretty strong. But it is true that we’ve lost some members in the past few months, including some of our more powerful mages.” Mirajane said. Seraiisa considered this for a moment. “Well, you know… One person’s loss is another’s opportunity.” she said. Mirajane and Levy both looked at each other.

“Uh, I’m guessing that’s also something your dad says?” Levy asked.

“Mmhmm.” Seraiisa confirmed.

“So… anything else?” Mirajane asked.

Seraiisa shook her head. “Thanks, but no. I’ve taken up too much of your time. I just really wanted to see your guild. Thanks for bringing me here Mirajane. But I should go now. My family’s probably waiting for me. Sorry to put you out.”

“Your welcome, and it was no problem. Like I said earlier, I was headed back here anyway.” Mirajane said. Seraiisa nodded. “Well, I should get going. Thanks again.” She turned around and headed for the door. “Maybe we’ll see you here again sometime, Seraiisa.” Mirajane called after her. The child turned around. “Yeah, maybe. And maybe I’ll bring my family, too.”

“I’d like that.” Mirajane said. Seraiisa smiled. She then waved goodbye at Mirajane and Levy, who waved back. She then left the building.

“What a nice girl.” Mirajane said.

“Yeah, she is. How did you meet her again?” Levy asked.

“Oh. Well, Elfman and I were out shopping for guild supplies, and other stuff. And we ran into this little girl who recognized us.”

“She recognized you?”

“Yeah. At first it was because of Elfman’s tattoo. She knew he was from Fairy Tail. But she recognized our names too. And she asked if we would take her to see the guild. So, I brought her back here.” Mirajane explained.

“Strange.” Levy said.

“Well, she is foreign. Different clothes and customs and all.” Mirajane stated.

“What’s strange is that she recognized you and Elfman, but not any of the S-Class members. I mean, she never heard of Laxus, or Master Makarov?” Levy clarified. Mirajane put a finger to her chin, thinking about this. “I guess that is kind of strange.” Mirajane shrugged it off though.

At that moment, the front door of the guildhall opened again. Mirajane thought it might be the master returning. But it wasn’t. Instead, Lucy, Gray, and Happy all walked through the door. They looked pretty disheveled and dirty. And it was obvious that Gray was wounded too. Levy was startled by Gray’s ugly injury. “Lucy, Gray, what happened?” she asked in a raised voice.

Lucy answered. “Gray is hurt, he needs help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone is wondering, the little girl's name is pronounced "ser-EH-iss-uh".
> 
> Also considering adding a "mystery" tag. I'm new to posting fanfics online, in case it isn't obvious.


	8. Foreshadows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Normally, I would include notes at the end. In this case though, I felt I should put this at the beginning of the chapter. You know the "mild sexual content" tag in the description? That probably applies here. Just letting people know up front. Keep in mind, different people might have different ideas of what "mild" means. If anyone feels that anything I write in this chapter or future chapters crosses the line to being more than just "mild", than feel free to say so in the comments and I'll consider modifying the tags to reflect that.
> 
> It is not my intention for anything in this story to be "smut". But I do want to take the characters in directions you wouldn't see in the canon. In some cases that might include exploring their sexuality in ways you wouldn't see in the canon.

A few days had passed since Gray, Lucy, and Happy had gone on their ill-fated adventure in the forest. They weren’t given the full reward money since they failed to clear out all the monstrous beasts. But they were at least paid half the money for taking out one of the creatures, and identifying the animals and their apparent central location so others will know what to look for. It wasn’t as much as they were hoping for, but at least Lucy could pay her rent.

Currently, Lucy and Gray were sitting outside of the guild hall. This was the first time they had spoken since they got back from the job. Gray had been recovering from his injury, which wasn’t as bad as it could have been. His arm was still bandaged, but otherwise he seemed okay. Lucy had been emotionally shaken by the event, but was physically fine.

“So, how are you feeling? Does it still hurt?” Lucy asked Gray. Gray lifted his injured arm casually. “Its fine. It looked worse than it was. It hurt like hell at the time though, I’ll admit.” Gray responded.

Lucy looked bothered, despite Gray’s reassurance. She looked at his arm, and then at him. “Gray, I’m really sorry.” Gray looked confused. “For what?”

“For letting this happen. For not being able to help you sooner.” She replied.

“It wasn’t your fault. Things happen. There’s always a risk. I should’ve been more careful.” He said.

“Yeah, but… I can’t stop thinking that if Natsu or… Erza had been there instead of me, then this wouldn’t have happened. You would’ve completed the job, and you wouldn’t have gotten hurt like that.”

Gray made a face. “If me and Natsu had been there, we probably would’ve spent more time fighting each other than anything else. And Erza… well, Erza is gone. So, there’s no point in thinking about that.” Gray said this to reassure her, but she still looked down on herself. Gray rubbed the side of his head, feeling uncomfortable. He didn’t know what to say to comfort her. “Look Lucy, maybe you do make mistakes. But I know you’ve got skills. Just recently you helped save that merchant guild from the dark guild… what were they called?”

“Naked Mummy.” Lucy offered.

“Yeah, that’s it. That was impressive.” Gray finished. Lucy thought about this. “I probably just got lucky, is all. I caught them off guard, and they didn’t seem like the most competent dark guild.”

“I think it shows you have potential.” Gray said.

“Maybe…” Lucy said, still unsure.

“Okay, I get it. You feel like you could be doing better. Sitting around moping ain’t gonna fix anything. You wanna get better, try harder. Do something about it.” He said. Gray half expected Lucy to get annoyed, or even angry at him. She didn’t. But she did have a serious look on her face. She looked him in the eye and said, “I will.”

Gray nodded at her. “Good.” Gray waited there a minute, waiting to see if she had anything else to say. But it looked like her mind was elsewhere. She looked off in the distance. “I almost forgot to ask, how is your dad? You know, after what happened?” Gray asked.

Lucy suddenly snapped back to attention. “My dad? He’s fine. I mean, broke, but fine. He didn’t even show up until after it was all over. Thanks for asking though.” Gray nodded again. He then got up. “See you later Lucy. I need to decide what my next job will be.” He then walked off. Gray didn’t ask Lucy if she wanted to join him on the next job. She didn’t blame him though. It just reinforced what she had already decided. She knew what she had to do.

***  
Meanwhile, inside the guild, Gajeel was waiting to talk to someone. He had been waiting for twenty minutes. He didn’t like standing around like this. As for what he wanted to talk about; he didn’t feel it was a matter of life or death, but he knew it was still fairly important.

He was standing against one of the pillars with his arms folded. He hadn’t spoken to anyone since he walked in. He was being left alone, as usual. He looked around the guild. It was moderately active right now. He saw Alzack Connell and Bisca Mulan in their cowboy outfits sitting near each other. They were having a conversation… sort of. They were looking away from each other and blushing. This just made Gajeel roll his eyes. _They’re practically adults, and they’re acting like a couple of awkward school kids_ , he thought. He decided to look away, in case they accidentally brushed hands and ran away screaming from embarrassment. That would be too much.

He shifted his gaze over to the side, and saw Macao Conbolt and his young son Romeo. Nearby was Macao’s close friend Wakaba Mine. Wakaba was smoking his pipe as usual. Romeo seemed pretty worked up over something. Macao sat, listening to his kid. Gajeel couldn’t help overhearing. “When is Natsu coming back? You said he’d be back soon! Where is he?” Romeo said, sounding partly angry and partly confused. Macao looked uncertain. “Well… I’m sure he’ll be back. He just has important stuff to do. I’m sure.” He said to his child. In his time at Fairy Tail, Gajeel had become vaguely aware of the hero worship that little Romeo had for Natsu. It was beyond him _why_ the kid looked up to Natsu so much, though.

“But when?” Romeo said in a shrill voice.

“Ugh.” Macao and Romeo both turned. The disgusted sound came from Gajeel, apparently louder than he had intended. Not that he was afraid of voicing his opinion. They were all staring at him. Gajeel realized that he was now part of the conversation, so he felt he might as well say what he was thinking. “Look kid, Salamander’s gone. He’s not coming back. Deal with it.” In response to this, Romeo looked upset. “That’s not true. He will be back! Shut up!”

Gajeel shook his head. He and Natsu had been rivals from the moment they met. But after a time, Gajeel had started to develop a grudging respect for Natsu. But that went out the window when Natsu decided to leave without so much as a word to his supposed friends. “He abandoned this guild. He’s gone. Maybe its better that way.” Gajeel stated. Just then, Macao got up and walked up to Gajeel. “Hey, back off. That’s my son you’re talking to.” Macao said. Gajeel shrugged. “I’m just telling it like it is. Someone needs to clue him in.”

“You let me worry about what to tell my son. Mind your own business.” Macao said, looking Gajeel in the eye. “Or what?” Gajeel said, looking right back at Macao. They stood there staring at each other. It was a tense moment.

“Ahem. You said you needed to speak to me.” A voice said. Macao and Gajeel both turned. It was Makarov. He looked at them both. “Is there a problem here?” They stood there for several seconds. Then, Gajeel said, “Heh. No problem. Come on, let’s talk. In private though.” Makarov knew there was a conflict here, but decided to let it go, for now. “Very well.” The master turned around and walked towards the back. Gajeel sneered at Macao, and then followed behind. Macao looked like he was about to say something, but then felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Wakaba. “Let it go, man. Its not worth it.” Macao looked at his friend. He nodded, and they walked away.

***  
Gajeel followed Makarov into a private room. It was a small room, but was away from the main guild hall, and would afford them some privacy. Gajeel closed the door after entering. There were a couple of chairs, and a small desk in the room. Makarov sat down at a chair by the desk. “This must be important.” stated Makarov.

“I thought it was something you’d want to know about.” Gajeel responded. Makarov nodded at this. He motioned for Gajeel to have a seat. “I’ll stand. This won’t take long.” he said.

“So, what is this about? I don’t suppose its good news. We could use some.” Makarov said.

Gajeel shook his head. “’Fraid not. I’ll get right to it. Remember how you asked me to be a mole to spy on Raven Tail?”

“Vaguely.” Makarov said with some sarcasm.

“Yeah well, things were going fine for a while. Your son Ivan seemed to accept me. Think I was one of them. Gave me info. And I was giving him false info in return. Seemed like I was doing a good job.” Gajeel explained.

“And?”

“Well… Recently things changed. The past few weeks they’ve been less forthcoming. They haven’t said anything, but I get the feeling they don’t trust me so much now. And then, a few days ago, they wouldn’t even respond to me. No answer. No explanation.”

Makarov sat and listened to all of this. He thought about it. “So, your cover is blown then?”

“I was careful. Nobody in the guild but you and me knows about this.”

“Did something happen recently? Did you notice any kind of change?”

Gajeel thought about this a minute. “Change? Hmm. The only thing I noticed, last time I was at their guild, was that they got a new member.” Makarov raised an eyebrow. “A new member? Did this person say anything to you? Or you to them?”

“Nah. Just some new guy. He was wearing some kind of mask with a hood. I thought that was kind of weird. But they all look like a bunch of creeps, so I didn’t think about it too much.” Gajeel said this last part without irony. “I did notice that he had already gotten pretty friendly with Ivan though. He seemed to be hanging around Ivan a lot, now that I think about it.”

Makarov tented his fingers, and thought this over. “This new member likely had something to do with this change in attitude. At least, that’s how it sounds, based on what you’ve told me. Look, wait another week, and try to contact them again. See if they respond. If not, then that probably means they know you’re working against them.”

Gajeel just nodded. “Yeah, sure. Whatever you say. Well, that’s all I’ve got to report. So, I guess I’ll be going.” Gajeel moved towards the door.

“Alright. But if they contact you in the meantime, let me know.” Makarov said.

“Sure.” Gajeel said. He then opened the door and left. Makarov sat there alone, thinking about this problem, in addition to all the other ones he has to deal with. He sighed, and looked up at the ceiling. “I wonder if I’ll ever get a chance to retire?” he mused to himself.

***  
Lucy Heartfilia found herself in the lobby of Fairy Hills, the female dormitory for Fairy Tail. Lucy herself didn’t live here. After all, living here wasn’t free. She could barely afford her apartment, and a dorm here at Fairy Hills was far more expensive.

She had decided to come here not long after her conversation with Gray. Fairy Hills was only a short distance from the main guild hall, so it didn’t take long. Lucy walked around the empty lobby. Lucy liked it here. It had a warm, comfortable atmosphere. The windows were open, which meant the room was brightly lit with natural light. She could hear sounds from upstairs, so she knew there were at least a few people here. She was pretty sure most of the girls here lived upstairs, so she headed for the nearby stairway leading up.

Lucy had come here looking for one girl in particular: Cana Alberona. The reason: she wanted Cana’s help. More specifically, she wanted someone to train with. Over the past few months, Lucy had begun to feel more and more that here own skills were lacking. Sure, she had won a few fights. But she wasn’t on the same level as some of the more powerful members of the guild. Which probably wouldn’t have bothered her in the past, when still she had her team with her. After all, not everyone can be a powerhouse. She had gotten used to playing more of a support role, which she felt suited her well enough. But now that she was more or less on her own, she felt a growing pressure on herself to get better. Stronger. Able to handle herself, instead of relying on others.

Of course, she knew that her guildmates would help her if she really needed it, just as she would for them. But she also knew that she couldn’t rely on having a team around her all the time anymore. Natsu and Erza were gone. And even Gray seemed reluctant to team up with her, even on their last job. Not that she blamed him. She still blamed herself for him getting hurt. Lucy shook her head. She decided that it wasn’t going to do any good dwelling on that. It was time to focus on the future.

She had climbed the stairs, and was fairly sure she was on the right floor. There was a hallway with several rooms on the sides. The doors had the names of the occupants on them, and they all led to the various dorm rooms. Lucy started walking down the hall, looking for Cana’s room. Some of the rooms were currently unoccupied. She passed a couple of doors with no names on them. She then came to Juvia’s room. As she passed, she couldn’t hear anyone talking to themselves about Gray, so she assumed Juvia wasn’t there. Lucy walked a little farther down the hall. She then came to another door that had a name on it. Erza. It was her old room. Lucy paused for a minute. She knew that Erza used to live here. But she hadn’t expected her name to still be on the door. Lucy would have figured that someone else would have gotten the room by now. She touched Erza’s name with her fingers. As she touched the letters of Erza’s name, she suddenly saw Erza’s face in her mind. A memory. Erza smiling. Her face in warm sunlight. Then it was gone, as quickly as it came. Lucy took her fingers off the door.

Lucy didn’t remember the exact context of the memory, but it was nice. Bittersweet. She decided that they probably left Erza’s name on the door as a memorial to her. Lucy smiled. She turned and continued on.

She walked farther down the hall, passing a few more doors. Finally, she came to the end of the corridor, and found Cana’s room. The door was closed, and she didn’t know if Cana was in at the moment. As far as she knew, Cana wasn’t on a job. Lucy walked up to the door, and raised her hand to knock on it. Lucy’s hand stopped an inch from the door. She heard a noise inside. She heard Cana and… something else. Cana was talking to someone. Lucy lowered her hand, feeling that maybe she had come at a bad time. What she wanted to talk about was important, but maybe it should wait.

As Lucy thought this, she heard another voice. It wasn’t one of the other girls. It was a man’s voice. Lucy froze. Men were not allowed in this building as far as Lucy knew. At least, not in the dorm rooms themselves. Lucy listened to what they were talking about. She heard Cana say “Oh yeah, that’s it. Lower.” The man was making grunting noises, and breathing heavily. She also heard the bed squeaking. It slowly dawned on Lucy what she was listening to. Her face turned bright red. She had the urge to turn and run, but was unable to move her legs. Suddenly, Lucy seemed acutely aware of every noise. In the hallway it was dead quiet. But on the other side of the door, Lucy could hear a fair amount of what was happening. She heard her friend moaning in what sounded like pleasure, followed by a louder moan. Lucy shut her eyes, and tried to think of something else. Which was a mistake, because now she was picturing it. Lucy shook her head, and a noise escaped her mouth.

Lucy suddenly put her hands to her mouth. A moment passed. She noticed that the noises on the other side of the door had stopped. She wondered if they had heard her. Her legs were starting to work again. She turned. Suddenly, the door opened. Lucy turned towards the now open door, and gaped like a deer in the headlights. It was Cana. She was dressed (in her usual capris and bra combo) but looked flushed. Cana looked Lucy in the face. “So, Lucy… how much did you hear?” Somehow, Lucy now felt even more embarrassed. She wanted to die. Before Lucy could respond, a man came up behind Cana, and put his arms around her. “Does this mean we’re done?” he asked. Cana looked at him. He was a handsome man who appeared several years older than Cana. “For now.” She said, and kissed him. “I need to have a talk with my friend here.” She said. The man nodded, and moved past Lucy. Lucy made an effort not to make eye contact with him. He looked like he was trying to move quietly and not be heard as he moved down the corridor.

After Cana’s “friend” left, she turned to Lucy. “Come in.” She waved Lucy in. Lucy still wanted to leave, but walked in anyway. Cana shut the door. She looked back at Lucy. “So, what brings you here? I hope you didn’t just come here to listen to me getting laid.” Lucy was taken aback by Cana’s bluntness. She put her face in her hands. She couldn’t look at Cana. After a moment, Lucy said, barely audibly “Cana, I swear I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on that. I would never… I mean, I don’t even think about that stuff!” In response to this, Cana just laughed. Lucy looked up. “Come on Lucy, I’m just teasing. I know you’re not a pervert.” Cana grinned mischievously. “Or are you?” she asked, winking at Lucy. Lucy put her face in her hands again.

Cana watched Lucy for a moment. “You know, I do think its funny how you seem to have this phobia of sex. Its kind of adorable, actually.” Cana said, continuing the teasing. Lucy looked up again, looking indignant. “I’m not afraid of sex, I just… I was raised a certain way, that’s all.” Cana considered this. “Well, you’re a big girl now Lucy. It wouldn’t hurt to… try new things. Who knows, you might even like it.” Cana smiled at Lucy.

“What? I… Cana.” Lucy sputtered. That was all she managed to say. Cana laughed again. She held up her hands. “Okay, I’ll stop. You’re just fun to tease. So, what _did_ you come her to talk about, really?” Lucy took a minute to compose herself. She then looked at Cana seriously. “Okay, look. I came here because I wanted to ask you something. Something important.” Lucy began. Cana raised an eyebrow. “Okay, what is it?” Cana asked.

Lucy hesitated, unsure of how Cana would respond to her request. “Cana… I want to ask you if you’ll help me train.” Cana looked a little confused. “Train? For what?”

“To be a better mage. To use my magic better. To handle myself in a fight better. And just… suck less.” Lucy finished. Cana frowned at this. Which made Lucy feel she was about to be told ‘No’.

“Okay, first of all, you do not suck. Who told you that?” Cana asked.

“No one told me. But its obvious. I can barely handle myself in a fight. I have trouble completing jobs. I make bad calls with my spirits half the time. Back when I had my team, I was kind of a third wheel a lot. But now I don’t have a team. I can’t rely on Natsu or the others to help me. I need to rely on myself, and my spirits. But to do that, I need your help. Which I know, is ironic.” Lucy finished explaining herself. Cana thought about this.

“I know you’re not the most powerful mage, but you do have skill. You took out that dark guild single handed, didn’t you? I would say you did a pretty good job ‘handling yourself’ there.”

“Yeah, and that’s why I’m not just giving up. Maybe I just got lucky with that guild. But the fact that I could do it at all… I think I can be better. But I need help. Your help. Please, help me train.” Lucy implored her friend.

Cana lowered her head, apparently considering Lucy’s request. “Lucy… its not that I’m not flattered you would ask me, but… Why? Why me? I mean, there are better mages than me you could ask for help, right? More experienced mages? More powerful mages?”

Lucy folded her arms. “There’s not as many options as you would think. I can’t really ask any of the S-Class mages. Even if I could track one down, I doubt they would agree to train me. Master Makarov has his hands full with other things. It would be selfish of me to expect him to devote time to training me specifically. And its not like there are any other celestial wizards around I can ask.”

Cana smirked. “I see. So, you’re asking me because you can’t get anyone better?” Now it was Lucy’s turn to frown. “No, Cana. I’m asking you because I’ve seen you in action. You’re pretty good. You might not be S-Class, but you know how to handle yourself. I think I could learn a few things from you. But I’m also asking because you’re my friend. I trust you.” Lucy finished, waiting for Cana’s response.

Cana seemed affected by what Lucy just said. The playfulness was gone, and she looked more serious. “Well, when you put it like that, how can I say no? If this is really that important to you, then I’ll help you, as best I can. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try to help you improve. And hey, maybe you’ll teach me a few things too.” They both smiled.

“Thanks Cana. This means a lot.” Lucy said. “It’s a deal then. We can start tomorrow.” Cana replied. Cana held out a hand. Lucy extended hers, and they shook, sealing the arrangement. Lucy walked towards the door. “Well, see you later.” As Lucy walked out the door, she turned back to Cana. “You know, I didn’t even know you had a boyfriend.” Cana shrugged. “Well, I only met him a couple weeks ago.” Lucy stared, mouth agape. “A couple weeks? And you already…” Cana chuckled. “See you tomorrow, Lucy.”

“Yeah, see you then.” Lucy said distantly, as Cana closed the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick endnote: you probably aren't going to see Cana's unnamed boyfriend again after this chapter. He isn't meant to be a real character in this story. He just shows up for this one scene. If I do put Cana in a long term relationship, then it will likely be with someone else.
> 
> Edit: Made a small but crucial addition to the story summary. Also, new tag which I probably should have added earlier.


	9. Preparing for Battle

Master Makarov had just finished making an announcement at the guildhall. It was an especially important announcement, that took many of the guild members by surprise. The topic: The Oracion Seis. They are a powerful dark guild that is a part of the “Balam Alliance”, alongside two other dark guilds known as Grimoire Heart and Tartaros. Makarov had informed his “children” that they, along with a coalition of other guilds, had been tasked with putting an end to the Oracion Seis once and for all. The mages were now left to discuss this turn of events amongst themselves.

Currently, Mirajane was helping to answer any questions people might have. “They only have six members, but are one of the most powerful dark guilds in the land.” Mirajane explained. Lucy, who was still considered a relative newcomer compared to many of the other members here, had been trying to follow this crash course on what is apparently one of the biggest threats to Fairy Tail, and Fiore in general. Most of the other mages already knew the score, and were talking about what to do in the immediate future, instead of history lessons. “We’re gonna show them what it means to be a man!” Elfman exclaimed. Cana, who was standing nearby, said “What about us women?”

“You can show them how to be a man too!” he answered. Cana rolled her eyes, while Mirajane giggled at her brother’s dopey enthusiasm.

“So, do we know who’s going to take care of this? I mean, we need a team, so who’s the master sending?” The query came from Gray, who was standing across from the others. Mirajane furrowed her brow. “I’m not sure. Ordinarily, I’m sure you and your old team would have gone. But with the way things are now, I don’t know. The master said he’s going to need time to think about that.” Gray seemed less than pleased with this response, but nodded slowly to indicate he understood. Gray wanted to go on this mission. He was getting tired of scrounging through small time jobs, and wanted something bigger and more significant. He was still fairly sure Makarov would pick him, but even the possibility of being left out bugged him.

Lucy, who had already asked the questions she wanted, turned, and began to walk away. As she walked down the hall, she noticed Levy, with some books as per usual, waving at her. “Hey Lucy, you got a minute? I’ve got some information you might want to hear.” Lucy, curious, walked over to where Levy was sitting. “What’s up?” Lucy asked. Levy held out a book with some pictures. It appeared to be a book about wildlife. “You know those strange beasts you encountered on that one job?” Levy asked.

“Yeah, kind of hard to forget that.” Lucy said.

“Well, I looked into it based on your description, and I think I know what they were. Actually, maybe we should call Gray over. He might want to hear this too.” Lucy wasn’t sure how interested Gray would actually be. She still had trouble figuring him out. But she called him over all the same. After Gray walked over, he looked at Levy’s book, seemingly half interested. “Okay, so what is it?” he said.

“Alright, so you described those big green birds, and that scaly creature in the cave. I think I know what they were. Or at least what they sound like. The birds are most likely Clippers, an aggressive species of bird which is often seen around Tenrou Island. And the other creature sounds like a Rollodillo, also from Tenrou.” Gray and Lucy both exchanged a puzzled glance.

“So, they’re from Tenrou? Then how did they get here to the mainland?” Gray said.

“Well, I’m not sure about that. The information I’ve seen says they’re found on Tenrou Island, but its possible they can be found in other places too. Maybe somewhere outside Fiore. Animals aren’t my specialty, so I’d have to look into it more.” Levy explained.

“Outside Fiore?” Lucy asked.

“Sure. I mean, you said there were cages, so maybe they were transported there somehow?” Levy added. Lucy looked closely at the images and rubbed her chin. “The beasts we saw looked different from this. I mean, they do look similar, but… the things we saw were scarier looking, and kind of deformed too.” Lucy said.

Levy drummed her fingers on the page of the book. “Yeah, about that. The rest of the creatures were eventually hunted down. They think they got them all, but who knows for sure. Anyway, the beasts were examined, and from what I’ve heard, the conclusion that they came to is that the creatures were magically altered.”

“What do you mean altered?” Gray asked.

“Well, they’re definitely not natural. Even if they were diseased, that still wouldn’t explain some of the changes from how they would normally be.” Levy said.

Gray thought about this. “I guess that would explain why those things seemed so freakishly strong. But what kind of magic would do that?” Levy held up her hands. “Honestly, I don’t know. There are many forms of magic, so its not surprising that there’s at least one that can affect animals like that. Kind of scary though. Imagine if someone used that on people instead of animals.” Lucy couldn’t help but shudder at the thought. She’d hate to encounter people that had been changed like that.

“That’s not all though.” Levy continued. “Apparently, they managed to take a couple of the creatures alive for study. They ended up being put down, but they found something disturbing. It seems that some of these creatures were missing some vital organs, even before death. One didn’t have a heart.” Lucy and Gray looked disturbed. “What are you saying?” Gray asked. Levy hesitated. “I think… these animals might have been reanimated. Brought back from the dead.” A silence fallowed this statement. For a moment, no one said anything.

“Well, that sounds creepy as hell.” Gray finally said. Lucy looked over at Levy apprehensively. “Levy, are you sure about this? Because that sounds pretty damn serious.” Levy looked hesitant, and started rubbing her arm. “I can’t confirm it. Keep in mind, this is mostly second and third hand information I’m going on here.”

“Who did you say was investigating this?” Gray asked.

“Hmm. It was initially local authorities and investigators. But then, the magic council got involved, and they’ve taken over the investigation. They’ve gotten pretty tight lipped about it at this point. So, we’re probably not going to be getting new information on this for a while, if ever.” Levy finished.

Gray folded his arms. “Let’s just hope it was some lone nut doing experiments, and not something worse. We don’t need more trouble right now. We’ve already got to deal with the Seis as it is.” Lucy nodded in agreement. “By the way, thanks for looking into this, Levy.” Lucy said.

Levy smiled. “Hey, no problem. I wanted to research it anyway. I love learning new stuff, and this sounded pretty intriguing. A little darker than I was expecting though.” Gray started shifting on his feet. “Alright, thanks for the info. I’m gonna get going though. I want to see if I can talk to the master about this Oracion Seis stuff.”

“Good luck.” Levy said earnestly. Gray turned and walked off. Lucy and Levy were left alone at the table. It was getting quiet in the guild now. Many of the mages had taken off after Makarov’s announcement. The ones that were left were murmuring about the upcoming guild war. Lucy looked like she was getting ready to leave as well. But Levy turned to Lucy and said, “So Lucy, it looks like Gray wants to go on that mission. How about you?” Lucy wasn’t expecting this question. She looked unsure. After a moment, Lucy said, “I’m not sure. Part of me wants to go, but part of me feels like I’m not ready.”

“Not ready? In what way?” Levy asked.

Lucy stood silent a moment. Levy was surprised at how serious she looked. “I guess it doesn’t matter. We’re not ready for a lot of things. I’ll just have to deal with things as they come.” Levy was taken aback by this. Partly because it sounded so unlike Lucy, and also because of how dour she sounded. Levy was, frankly, a little weirded out by it. “Um, okay Lucy. I guess I’ll talk to you later then.” Lucy looked back to Levy. “Yeah. Thanks again. See you later.” Lucy gave a small but warm smile, which made Levy feel a little better. Lucy then walked off gradually.

***  
Later that day, Mirajane was out taking a walk by herself. She was just at the entrance of Magnolia Park. It was a bit of a walk from the guild, but she decided that the exercise would be good. She rarely came here by herself though, and hadn’t been here at all in a while. As she walked through the park, she noticed how vibrant everything looked. A multitude of warm colors in the foliage, appropriate for this time of year. Of course, that also meant that everything would be bare soon, as winter loomed on the horizon. Realizing this made Mirajane wish that she had brought a jacket. It was warm enough right now, but it would be getter colder by the time she got back to the guild.

After a few minutes, she had walked close to the center of the park, and stopped. She stood and looked around. There were a few other people around, but otherwise there wasn’t much activity right now. Nonetheless, she continued scanning the area. Mirajane had actually had another reason for coming to the park today. She was, in fact, looking for someone in particular. After looking for a minute, and seeing nothing, she decided she should probably move on. But she suddenly heard a voice behind her. “Hi Mirajane.” the voice said. Mirajane turned around. Standing there was Seraiisa, the little girl that Mirajane and Elfman had met at the market before. Mirajane had actually run into Seraiisa a few times since then. She was always friendly, outgoing, and curious. At first, Mirajane was mostly just being nice to the girl. But she found that she was starting to genuinely like Seraiisa, and enjoy talking to her. Seraiisa had mentioned before that she and her father would be at the park today. She also said that it would be “cool” if she ran into Mirajane there. Mirajane took the hint and decided to stop by. She enjoyed Seraiisa’s company, and was curious about her family.

“Hi Seraiisa. Imagine running into you here.” Mirajane said with a smile. “Yeah, imagine.” Seraiisa smiled back.

“Beautiful day, huh?” Mirajane said.

“Yup. Magnolia’s a nice town. Crowded, but nice.” Seraiisa said. She was wearing different clothes then the first time they met. She was wearing a loose-fitting yellow shirt with a long black skirt. The outfit still had some of the same symbols on it though. Mirajane kept meaning to ask about that, but hadn’t gotten around to it.

“So, your dad is here with you?” Mirajane asked. Seraiisa nodded. “He’s around.” It was a vague response. Mirajane noticed that the girl often tended to give vague or cryptic responses to questions. It was the one thing about her that Mirajane found a little off putting. Seraiisa sat down on a nearby bench. She looked up at Mirajane. “So, what’s been going on with Fairy Tail? Anything exciting?”

Mirajane considered this a moment. “Well, we do have this important mission coming up. Dangerous stuff. I’m not going of course. But what have you been up to?”

“Not much. Just getting adjusted. Making new friends. But what about this ‘dangerous mission’? I want to hear about that. If that’s okay.”

Mirajane shrugged. “Its grown up stuff. Nothing you need to worry about.” Seraiisa pouted slightly. “Come on Mirajane, I can handle it. Please?” Mirajane thought it over. She looked unsure. “I don’t know. Would your father be okay with me telling you that stuff? I feel like maybe I should ask him first?” Seraiisa looked at the ground. Seraiisa had mentioned her family a few times, but never wanted to talk about them. Mirajane really seemed to want to meet at least one of them though. It was partly out of curiosity, but also partly because Mirajane wanted to make sure that Seraiisa really did have someone to take care of her. She’s just a little girl, after all. Seraiisa sat there, appearing to think things over, while Mirajane waited. Finally, the child looked up again and said, “Okay. I’ll take you to see my dad. He’s at another entrance nearby. And then we can talk about this mission some more, okay?” She looked at Mirajane hopefully.

“You really want to hear about that stuff, huh? Okay, it’s a deal. I’m ready to meet your dad. Is he nice?” Mirajane said. Seraiisa nodded. “Definitely. I know he wants to meet you too. Follow me.” Seraiisa waved in a certain direction, and began walking. Mirajane followed closely behind. They walked for several minutes through the park, until they came to an entrance. As they walked up to the entrance, Mirajane noticed a man standing there. He was wearing a robe similar to the one Seraiisa wore when Mirajane first met her, only more drab looking. _That has to be him_ , Mirajane thought.

The man turned around, and smiled as he saw Seraiisa. He then noticed Mirajane following behind, and stopped smiling. He didn’t look upset or angry. Just surprised, and maybe curious. “Hi daddy!” Seraiisa said. She walked up to the man and hugged him, which he returned. Mirajane smiled. They seemed to have a good relationship. She observed the man. He appeared to be an ordinary, unassuming looking man. Average build, greying hair, plain features. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting.

The man put a hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “Back so soon?” he asked. She nodded. He then turned to Mirajane. “And you must be Mirajane Strauss.” She looked a little surprised that the man knew her name. “Seraiisa has told me a lot about you.” _Of course, that makes sense_ , she thought. The man walked up to her and extended a hand. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Nikodias Vannbar.” Mirajane shook his hand. His name sounded just as strange to her as Seraiisa’s did.

“Vannbar. Seraiisa never told me her last name. I was starting to think she didn’t have one.” Mirajane said. Nikodias chuckled at this, and Seraiisa smirked. “Seraiisa can be secretive about things. But I don’t blame her. She’s been through a lot. We lost our home, and she lost friends. And now we find ourselves in this strange new place, trying to start a new life. Naturally, she has some trouble trusting people.” the man finished explaining. Mirajane looked taken aback. “Oh. I… didn’t realize. I’m sorry.” Nikodias held up a hand. “Its okay. I choose not to dwell on the past. Its better to focus on the present, and the future. Right?” He looked at Seraiisa with this last part. She nodded in agreement.

“So Mirajane, you were going to tell us about this special mission that Fairy Tail is doing?” Seraiisa inquired. Mirajane had almost forgotten about that. “Oh, yeah. Are you sure your father wants to hear about that?” she said, as she looked at the man uncertainly. “I would definitely like to hear about it. I want to learn as much as I can about this country, and what’s going on. I’d also like to learn more about your guild. I had thought that maybe it could be a place for us, from what I’ve heard.” He confirmed.

Mirajane decided there was no harm in telling them. “Alright. Well, it involves this powerful guild called the Oracion Seis.” As soon as Mirajane said that, the man’s expression became more serious. Mirajane noticed this. “Have you heard of them?” she asked.

“Yes, I have. They’re a dark guild. They control other, smaller dark guilds too.” he said.

“It sounds like you already know a lot. Anyway, our guild is sending a team to deal with them. Part of a coalition of teams from several guilds actually.” Mirajane said. The man and his daughter exchanged a look. “That does sound dangerous. When is this going to be? I was hoping we could stop by your guild soon. We may need to adjust our plans.” He said.

“It should be in the next few days, actually. I’ll still be there at the guild though, and so will the master.” Nikodias considered this. “I see.” He said simply.

Seraiisa’s father appeared to reflect on this information. But something suddenly occurred to Mirajane. “You know, I still don’t know anything about your magic. Your daughter told me a little about your powers, and how its different from our magic. She didn’t go into detail though.” Nikodias looked at Mirajane, taking a second to register what she said. “Hmm. Well, I could tell you about that. But maybe it would be easier to just show you.”

Mirajane was surprised by his. She wasn’t expecting an actual demonstration. “Really? I have to admit, I’m pretty curious. I’d love to see what you can do.”

“Actually…” Nikodias began. He then turned to Seraiisa. “Seraiisa? How would you like to give her a little display of what you can do?” Seraiisa seemed caught off guard by this. She clearly wasn’t expecting him to say that. “Are you sure?” she said.

“Yes, its okay.” Her father confirmed. She seemed a little hesitant, but nodded. She then turned to Mirajane. “Alright, this might take a few minutes. It’ll be cool though. Just wait.”

“Um, ok.” Mirajane said, not sure what to expect. The girl then began walking in the opposite direction, out of the park. “Where is she going?” Mirajane asked the father. “Its fine. This is part of the setup. Just wait.” He reassured her. Mirajane watched as Seraiisa continued walking, out into the residential area, and then turned behind some buildings. And they waited. Mirajane listened to the birds chirping, and the leaves rustling. Which was relaxing, but didn’t stop her from wondering what was going to happen and how long it would take. The whole thing seemed strange to her. She looked over at Nikodias, who was just standing there with his eyes closed and hands folded, patiently waiting for his daughter to do whatever it is she was going to do.

After waiting for several minutes, Mirajane suddenly felt like leaving. In fact, she felt the urge to start walking in the same direction Seraiisa had gone. She knew she still had to wait though, so she stayed. But it was like something was gently tugging at her. Then she heard a voice. “Mirajane?” it said. Mirajane turned to look, but there was no one there. She thought it sounded like Seraiisa, except it was like a whisper in the back of her mind. “Mirajane, can you hear me? Its me, Seraiisa.” The whisper said.

“Seraiisa? Where are you?” Mirajane asked.

“I can’t hear you, but you should be able to hear me. I’m still behind those houses you saw me walk to. I’m coming back to you now.” The whisper faded, and Nikodias opened his eyes. He smiled, seemingly with pride at his daughter’s power. Mirajane watched as Seraiisa came back down the street and reentered the park area. As she walked up to Mirajane, she said “Cool or what?”

Mirajane looked impressed. “Yeah, its cool. Just like you said it would be. You’re a telepath then. Actually, we have someone like that in our guild. It’s a useful ability though. Having two people who can do that would come in handy.”

Nikodias interjected. “Its not exactly accurate to say that. Telepathy is a part of her power, but its more than that. There is also a physical component to it. She can attract and repel things as well.” He explained.

 _Attract and repel?_ Mirajane thought. She quickly realized that that must have been the tugging sensation she felt. “Yeah, I think I felt that.” Mirajane said. Seraiisa looked pleased at this. “Just so you know, my power works better with stronger mages. The stronger their magic, the more clearly they can hear me.” Seraiisa said.

“Really? That’s… unusual. Your power is dependent on other mages’ power?” Mirajane said.

“Not totally. I can still use my magic with non-mages, but not as well. But if there’s a powerful mage around, then they should be able to hear me loud and clear, even from a mile away.” She explained. She thought for a moment. “Actually, you could probably hear me from across the country if you were powerful enough, and I prepared myself. It would be hard though.”

Mirajane was skeptical about this. “Across the country? That’s really far. Are you sure?” Seraiisa didn’t say anything, just smiled. Cryptic again. “Well, I just hope you’re using those powers responsibly. That sort of thing can cause problems if you’re not careful.”

Seraiisa looked serious. “I wouldn’t use these powers if I didn’t have a good reason. I promise.”

Mirajane held up her hands. “Okay, I believe you. I guess I’m just a little worried, since you’re so young. But I know you’re responsible.” Seraiisa appeared to lighten at this.

Mirajane turned back to Seraiisa’s father. “So, what can you do, as far as magic?” Mirajane asked Nikodias. He smiled. “My power is different from hers’. But we’ve found a way for our powers to complement each other.”

“I understand. My siblings had different, but similar powers, and we were on a team together.” Mirajane said.

“You don’t say? At any rate, I’d love to show you my magic, but I have to get going. We both do.” He turned to his daughter. She looked displeased. “Sorry Mirajane, looks like I have to go now.” She said. But Mirajane just smiled. “That’s okay. We’ll see each other again next time.”

“…Yeah. Next time.” Seraiisa said. Mirajane could tell that she didn’t want to leave yet. But they all had their own lives. The girl and her father both started to walk off. “It was nice meeting you Mr. Vannbar. I hope we’ll see you at the guild soon.” Mirajane said. Nikodias turned and said, “I’m sure you will.” Seraiisa briefly turned, but didn’t say anything. Mirajane watched them both walk off into the distance.

Now, it was time to head back. As expected, it was now getting colder out, and Mirajane was missing her jacket. Nonetheless, she felt better after spending some time with Seraiisa and her father. She began the long walk back to Fairy Tail.

***  
A giant axe swung forth at Cana, which she narrowly dodged. She jumped out of the way, falling to the ground on her side. Before the opponent could take advantage, she pulled two magic cards and threw them. They created an explosion of fire and ice at the target, bringing him to his knees. Cana got to her feet. She pulled another card, and threw it at her opponent’s head. After a second, a regular explosion went off, knocking him to the ground. Cana stood over him.

“Come on Taurus, get up!” Lucy shouted. But Taurus had been hurt by the series of attacks, and was struggling to stand back up. Cana pulled another card. Before she could use it, Taurus swung his axe low to sweep her feet. Cana was almost caught off guard by this. She managed to jump in time, but still stumbled onto her back. Taurus got up and smiled at this reversal of fortune. He raised his axe. He wouldn’t seriously hurt her of course, but he knew he had to beat her. He prepared to hit her with the blunt part. Cana launched the card she had still been holding onto. It hit Taurus square in the chest. A bolt of lightning shocked him, knocking him down again. He disappeared in front of Cana and Lucy. Cana then stood up, victorious.

“Damn it!” Lucy cried. Cana turned and smiled at Lucy. “That’s three out of four Lucy. I win again.” Lucy stood there a moment. She chuckled. “Guess I’ll have to try harder. I’ll get you next time though!” She said this in a half joking way. She even pouted a little. But internally, this bothered her more than she let on. Its not that she felt the need to compete with others, or be a “badass”. Unlike her former teammates, she never particularly cared about that stuff (not that she would complain if someone thought she was badass). But she felt that this was something she needed to do. Partially for herself, so that she can be more independent, and not have to rely on others all the time. And partially for the guild as a whole, which had lost several powerful members, and would possibly be losing even more members soon with the way things have been going. Lucy knew she couldn’t turn things around for the guild by herself. But she could help. Or at least try.

The two of them were currently in a grassy area behind the Fairy Hills dorm. They chose this area because it was a relatively private place, where they wouldn’t have the distractions of onlookers around. Truthfully, it was more for Lucy’s benefit. Cana didn’t especially care if others saw, but Lucy was a little self-conscious about it.

Cana was stretching after the last fight, while Lucy was examining her keys, trying to figure out where she went wrong. Cana looked over at Lucy. “So, Lucy… did you tell anyone about the other day? You know, in the dorm?” Lucy looked uncomfortable. “I said I wouldn’t. I guess its no one’s business. Including mine.” Cana cocked her head. “You know, I realize I’ve never seen you with a boyfriend. Is there a reason? Or, are you into… girls?” Lucy looked even more uncomfortable, and a little embarrassed. “No, I’m not into girls, I just… Since when do you care so much about my… love life?” Lucy said. Lucy didn’t like thinking about that incident. It was mortifying for her. And yet, she had thought about it a few times since, despite herself. Not because she wanted to imagine her friend “getting laid”. Actually, she wasn’t entirely sure why she was thinking about it. Sex had always seemed taboo to her. Something you don’t talk about, and definitely don’t do, at least until marriage. Lucy had always felt that was a sensible attitude. Obviously, Cana feels differently. Lucy wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Part of her was put off by Cana’s brazen sexuality. But another part of her was a little jealous. Not that she would ever admit that.

“Hey, if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. Its just that lately you’ve seemed lonely. And kinda frustrated.” Cana replied.

Lucy looked at Cana with an unsure expression. “Lonely and frustrated? Me? No. I have Fairy Tail. I have my spirits.”

“Yeah. But Fairy Tail has changed. A lot of things have changed. Not always for the better. Its not exactly the same guild you first walked into months ago.” Cana finished, and Lucy absorbed her words. To Cana’s surprise, Lucy just shrugged and said, “Yeah, and? That’s just the way life is sometimes.” She didn’t say this sadly, or bitterly. Just matter-of-factly. Cana raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe you’re changing too. Not saying it’s a bad thing.” Cana said. Lucy said nothing. “Look, my point was just that sometimes its good to have a release of sorts, you know?” Cana stated. Lucy looked at her again.

“You mean the kind of ‘release’ you get with your… boyfriends?” Lucy said, still slightly uncomfortable with the subject. Cana noticed the use of plurality, but it didn’t bother her. She shrugged. “Sex can help with that, sometimes. But there are other ways. Actually, I think that might be part of the reason you’re so gung-ho to fight lately. Its another type of release.” Lucy looked dubiously at Cana.

“Cana, I told you why I want to do this. I’m not a fight junkie like Natsu.” Cana held up her hands. “I didn’t say you were. I’m just saying, when a lot of bad shit happens, and you have no control over it, sometimes you just want to hit something. At least, I feel that way sometimes. But maybe you’re different. In fact, forget I brought it up.” Cana looked away from Lucy, suddenly feeling that she might not be the best person to give advice.

Lucy walked closer to Cana. “No, its fine. I know you’re just trying to help. And… maybe you did have a point in there.” Cana looked back at Lucy. “Look, I know what its like to want to get better, and stronger. To want to improve yourself. That’s something I’ve struggled with.” Cana said.

“Oh yeah?” Lucy said, interested.

“Yeah. As a matter of fact, I always…” Cana trailed off. She suddenly looked unsure. “Actually, I’m not sure I want to talk about this right now. Its pretty personal. Maybe some other time. Sorry.” Lucy looked a little disappointed, but smiled. “Its okay. You can tell me when you’re ready.”

Cana smiled back. “I will.” The mood lightened a little, even if there was still an undercurrent of unease. The two of them stood there for a moment. Cana put her hands on her hips. “So, are we done for today?” In response, Lucy shook her head, and held up her index finger. “One more, Cana. I’m not done yet.”

“Suit yourself.” Cana said. Cana moved back further into a good position to start. Lucy moved into position as well. Cana reached for her cards, and Lucy for her keys. Cana pulled a card, but Lucy grabbed her key first. She summoned Cancer the Crab, wielding his scissors. Cana smirked. “You gonna give me a haircut?” She said.

“Maybe.” Lucy replied. “Go for a frontal attack!” Lucy ordered. The crab man hesitated for just a second, which was enough time for Cana to launch a card at the ground, which caused the ground near the two of them to erupt, knocking Lucy back. Cancer dodged it though, and charged at Cana. His blades grew considerably larger. Cana summoned a wall of cards to protect herself. Cancer tried to slash through them, though they were magically reinforced. Cana drew three more cards, which would blow him away. Before she could use them, something kicked her leg out from under her, and she fell. When she looked up, she saw Leo/Loke. Lucy had apparently summoned him while Cana was distracted. “I don’t like fighting women, but Lucy said she needed me.” He explained. “How noble.” Cana replied. She then threw the three cards she was holding at Cancer, causing a big, fiery blast in his face. He flew back, and vanished. It was still tough for Lucy to have two spirits at once, and maintaining Cancer after an attack like that while Leo was also there was apparently too much for her. Leo put up his fists, readying an attack. Cana rolled, and quickly gathered another handful of cards. He rushed her. She raised her hand to attack, but he grabbed it. But one card activated anyway, blasting both Cana and Leo with an electric shock. They both fell to the ground.

Lucy looked on, concerned. “Cana, are you badly hurt?” Cana didn’t respond. Lucy ran over to check on her. She looked down at Cana, and Leo backed up a little to give her some room. “Cana?” Lucy said. Without warning, Cana tossed a card into the air, which exploded into a blast of ice. Lucy yelped in surprise. Leo rushed to protect Lucy, but forgot to protect himself, getting a blast in the face. He fell. Lucy slowly got up onto one knee. Leo disappeared, while Cana still lay on the ground. Cana turned to look at Lucy. “I might need a minute. Let’s call that one a draw.” Lucy smiled wearily. “Sure.” It was obvious that Lucy wasn’t going to get better overnight. But it was a start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was unsure of how to use Lucy's spirits in this story. I want this story to have a more serious tone than the canon. However, Lucy's spirits often tend to be pretty silly, which made using them in this story difficult, without wrecking the tone I'm going for. I eventually decided to tone down the silliness of some of them (like Virgo), and in some cases just not have them talk at all.
> 
> Notice that Taurus and Cancer had no dialogue. That was deliberate.


	10. Departure and Arrival

Gray Fullbuster stood in Magnolia Station. Several days had passed since Makarov’s announcement that Fairy Tail would be sending a team to help take down the Oracion Seis. Gray, much to his delight, had been chosen to go. Not that this was his dream job, but it gave him a chance to get out there and do something significant for a change. It had been too long, in his book. He also felt that this could mark a turning point for the guild, away from the undercurrent of gloom it had had lately, back towards a better path.

Gray was waiting for the train to arrive. It was due soon. It was later in the afternoon, and there were dark clouds in the sky, signaling impending rainfall. The approaching darkness and rain meant that there wouldn’t be much sightseeing on the way to the destination. Gray turned around and looked back at the rest of his team, also waiting for the train. Lucy Heartfilia was here, along with Happy. Gray supposed that Makarov felt that what remained of “the strongest team” should stick together. He watched as Lucy and Happy appeared to be talking about something. He noticed that the two of them seemed to get along better lately. Their mutual loss of Natsu might have something to do with that, but Gray couldn’t say for sure.

He then turned to look at Juvia. She was sitting on a bench, watching him. She noticed him looking at her, and waved at him. Instead of waving back, he just turned his head and pretended not to see. Juvia had of course made a case for coming, if only because Gray was going. Makarov agreed, feeling that her water abilities could be useful on this mission. Gray was less than thrilled about it though.

Lastly, there was Gajeel. He was leaning against a post, looking annoyed, but also bored from having to wait around. Makarov had felt that having a dragon slayer join them would be an advantage. Since Natsu and Laxus were both gone, that just left Gajeel. Nobody else on the team was happy to have him there. But they also knew he was there for a reason. Whatever his personality issues, there was no denying that in combat he was formidable.

In the distance, a horn sounded. The train was approaching. The group turned to look in the direction of the approaching train, and they gathered together at the platform. “Its about damn time.” Gajeel said.

“Yeah, I was getting tired of just standing around here like this.” Gray said.

“I’m just glad to be out doing something for a change. I’m getting tired of just fishing and flying around aimlessly all the time.” Happy added.

“Yeah, I guess getting together to do something productive will be good for all of us. I mean, a guild war wouldn’t have been at the top of my list, but…” Lucy trailed off. Meanwhile, Juvia remained silent. They all stood and watched as the train rode up the platform, the brakes squealing, the announcements blaring overhead. The train slowly came to a stop in front of them, and the doors opened. Fortunately, there weren’t many other people boarding, so they didn’t have to worry about a big crowd.

Gray boarded the train, followed by the others. After presenting their tickets, they all found seats. Gray, Lucy, Happy, and Juvia all sat together. Gajeel took advantage of the lack of other passengers and sat apart from the others. Now, they had to wait for the train to depart.

After a moment, Happy said, “So, what’s the plan here? How are we going to deal with the Oracion Seis guys?” Lucy looked down at him. “Well, try not to die, for a start. These guys sound pretty scary. Seriously though, Happy’s right. We could use a plan. What do we know about these guys?” Gray looked over at her and shrugged. “Not much. There’s six of them, and they’re all really powerful. That’s about it. I guess they’ll tell us more when we get there. “Hmm.” Lucy said, less than satisfied with the answer.

A few minutes passed in quiet. An announcement was made that the train was about to leave. Other than that, there was an awkward silence among the group. Suddenly, Gray became aware that Juvia, sitting across from him, was staring at him. She often stared at him. But this time she seemed to be doing it more intently. He tried to ignore it.

“Gray.” Juvia said. Gray just stared out the window. Not that there was much to see. “Gray?” Juvia repeated. Gray still ignored her. “Gray.” She said more loudly this time. Finally, Gray turned to look at her. “What?” He figured it was going to be another declaration of her love for him. But instead, she said, “Gray, I’d like to talk to you. Right now.” Gray became uncomfortable. “Can’t it wait?” he said.

“I’ve _been_ waiting. I want to talk to you. Please.” She replied. Gray felt he knew what she wanted to talk about, but he wasn’t sure why she was choosing now of all times to do this. He shifted in his seat. Lucy and Happy were both watching and listening, and even Gajeel seemed to be watching them, albeit less blatantly. “Juvia, if its something personal, I’m not really comfortable talking about this in front of other people like this.” He said, hoping that would dissuade her. But she persisted. “Then let’s go somewhere more private. There aren’t a lot of people on the train, we can find another booth.”

Gray started to become annoyed. “Look Juvia, this isn’t the best time. We’ve got this important mission to do, that’s what we should be focused on. This is pretty high stakes stuff, you know. So… just forget it. Another time.” Juvia looked annoyed in turn. “There’s never a good time for you. You never want to talk about this.” Though she was annoyed, there was also a hint of hurt in her voice. She got up and walked off to find someplace else to sit. Gray felt himself start to relax more again now that she was gone. But he also noticed a disapproving look from Lucy.

“What?” Gray said. Lucy didn’t say anything in response, but just pulled out a book to read. “Whatever.” Gray said in response to Lucy’s silence. He tilted his head back, and stared up at the ceiling. It wasn’t that far to their destination. But Gray already knew that it was going to _feel_ like a long trip.

Meanwhile, Gajeel was sitting across the aisle, by himself. He had gotten some amusement out of Gray and Juvia’s public “lover’s spat”. But the rest of the trip would likely be boring. As he sat there, he listened to the announcement that the train was finally about to move. About time, he thought. He was looking forward to mixing it up with the Oracion Seis. He knew that if Natsu was still here then he probably would have been chosen to go instead. _Guess I should be grateful to Salamander for taking off like he did, and giving me a chance to step up. Oracion Seis… I wonder if they’re really as big and bad as everyone says?_ As Gajeel thought this, the train began to move.

Gajeel looked out the window at the station, which was now beginning to slowly pass by. As the train gradually began to pick up speed, Gajeel noticed something. At the far end of the station, there was a group of people. Not unusual in and of itself, but Gajeel felt they were familiar somehow. They were in a darkened area, so he couldn’t see clearly. There were three of them. One was wearing a hood and… a mask? He couldn’t see their faces, but it seemed like they were watching the train.  
Gajeel sat up to get a closer look, but the train was already moving away. Gajeel wondered if he should say something. But to who? Makarov wasn’t here, and he wasn’t supposed to talk to anyone else about this stuff. Besides, it might have just been his imagination. He would look pretty stupid if that was the case. He decided to just forget it. Maybe he would contact Makarov about it when they got to the meeting place. Just in case. In the meantime, he would just settle down and try to pass the time until they all got there.

The train had now left the station, and was heading into the country side. As he looked out of the window again, Gajeel noticed that it was starting to rain.

***  
Meanwhile, back at the Fairy Tail guild hall, Bickslow and Evergreen had just returned. They had not come back from a job though. They had returned from seeing a friend.

“Every time we go there, its always the same. I keep hoping there’ll be some sign he’s improving, or starting to wake up, but nothing.” Evergreen said sullenly. Bickslow, standing beside her, said nothing. Evergreen continued. “I’m starting to think that he might never wake up. I hate to say it, but maybe the Thunder Legion is…” she trailed off. Bickslow turned towards her. “The Thunder Legion is still alive, and so is he. He’ll wake up. He’ll be just like he was before. You’ll see.” Bickslow said this with a smile, though his voice sounded strained. Evergreen side eyed him. “I hope you’re right.” Was all she said in response. She doubted he was right, but knew that saying so would only lead to a fight, so she let it go.

“Of course I am. Don’t sweat it.” He said. Evergreen wasn’t sure if he genuinely believed that, or if he was just in denial. But if it made him feel better, she wasn’t going to contradict him. She knew that their group wasn’t complete without Freed though. Or Laxus, for that matter. As she was thinking this, she heard the front door of the guild open just a few feet away. As she turned to look, she was surprised to see a strange little girl step in. Evergreen looked at her quizzically. “Um, can we help you?” The girl bowed her head. “Hi. I’m Seraiisa. Did Mirajane tell you we were coming?”

Evergeen raised an eyebrow. “No one said anything to me. And, what do you mean ‘we’? Who else is coming?”

“Well, my family. We were invited. We were thinking of joining up with your guild. My dad says he’s going to make the decision tonight.” Seraiisa explained. She folded her hands behind her back, waiting to see what they said. Bickslow just shrugged. “Sounds fine to me, I guess. We could use some new members.”

Evergreen put her hands on her hips. “Did you want to speak with someone in particular? The master maybe?”

“Actually, I was looking for Mirajane. We’re friends.” The girl smiled brightly. Bickslow rubbed his chin. “Oh yeah, I think I remember hearing something about her hanging around some strange kid. No offense.” Seraiisa seemed unbothered by his comment though.

“Mirajane is off visiting someone right now, but she’ll be back soon. But the master should be around if you want to talk to him.” Evergreen said.

“Maybe I will. Thanks, um…” Seraiisa paused and looked at them questioningly. Evergreen realized what the girl was asking. “Oh, where are my manners, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Evergreen, and that’s Bickslow.” Bickslow gave a small wave. Seraiisa looked amused. “You Fairy Tail guys definitely have some colorful names. Literally in your case!” She said this last part while pointing at Evergreen. Evergreen gave a fake chuckle, to be polite. Bickslow turned to her and said, “Hey she’s right, your name does have a color in it.” As if he only just realized that. “Seriously?” Evergreen said. The two of them didn’t notice Seraiisa move past them further into the guild.

Seraiisa moved down the hall closer to the stage of the guild. She tried to avoid bumping into the various mages around the guild. Despite this, she ended up doing exactly that. She turned her head for a second, and walked right into someone. She backed up a step. “Oh, sorry.” She said. But then she looked up, and recognized the man. “Elfman! Good to see you again. How’ve you been?” Elfman seemed a little taken aback. For some reason he was never entirely comfortable around her, despite her friendliness. “Oh, hey kid. I’m good. Everything okay with you?” he replied.

“Better than okay. If things go well, we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other from now on.” She said.

“Oh right. You and your folks want to join up, right?”

“Maybe.” She said coyly. “By the way, is your master around here? I’d like to meet him.”

Elfman turned around and pointed over to a corner. “He’s right over there. Want me to walk over with you?” Seraiisa shook her head. “No, that’s okay. I’ll be fine. Thanks.” With that, she walked off towards the direction Elfman had pointed to. As she walked over, she saw that the master was talking with Levy. Seraiisa overheard some of their conversation.

“Unfortunately, it seems like those animals weren’t an isolated incident. There have been other sightings too. And yesterday I heard people talking about seeing an actual human being with similar… afflictions. Apparently they attacked someone.” Levy said to Makarov.

“Apparently. But can you confirm it, or is this just rumor?” Makarov asked.

“Well… honestly there’s no hard evidence of altered humans. It could just be rumors. I hope so.” As Levy finished, she noticed that Makarov wasn’t looking at her, but something else. Levy turned her head. It was the little girl from before. “Oh, hey. Didn’t see you there. Snuck up on us.” Levy said good naturedly.

“Did I?” Seraiisa said. Levy turned back to Makarov. “Master, this is… Seraiisa, right?” Seraiisa nodded. Levy continued. “She was interested in joining the guild. Her family too.” Makarov nodded. “So I heard. Hmm. You’re very young.” He said.

“And you’re very…” Seraiisa started. Makarov raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to finish. “…experienced.” She said. Makarov chuckled. “Well said. Levy, we can finish talking about this later.” He turned back to Seraiisa. “Miss McGarden was just filling me in on the current news.” He said.

“That’s ‘Smart Levy’.” Seraiisa said, using that as a nickname. Levy smiled at that. “I’ll let you two talk. Goodbye master. Nice seeing you Seraiisa.” Levy said, and walked off. After Levy left, Makarov looked at Seraiisa. Despite the fact that she was a child, and he an old man, she still managed to be taller than him, which she found amusing. He looked up at her and said, “So, your family is interested in joining, and you’re speaking on their behalf. Maybe I should talk to your parents.”

“They trust me. You can talk to them though. When they get here. But they might be a while, they’re pretty busy.”

“That’s fine. Tell me, how old are you exactly?” Makarov asked.

“I’m eleven.” She said.

“Eleven. Good age. You actually wouldn’t be the youngest person to ever join the guild. And we could certainly use some new blood right now. So… until your family shows up, is there anything you need?” Makarov said.

Seraiisa looked at him seriously. “I’d like to talk to Mirajane, but I was told she’s off visiting someone. Do you know when she’ll be back?”

Makarov considered this. “Well… young as you are, I think you’re old enough to know the truth. She’s off visiting a deceased relative at the cemetery. She’ll be back in a while though.”

Seraiisa appeared thoughtful. “Oh. A relative. Is this at the cemetery by the church nearby?”

“Well yes, but you can wait for her here. I think she wants to be alone right now anyway. And the rain will be getting heavier soon too.”

“Thanks, but there’s something important I want to talk with her about. In private. I’ll be back soon.” Before Makarov could respond Seraiisa began running down the hall, out towards the door. Makarov sighed. _Sometimes kids just don’t listen to their elders_ , he thought.

***  
After several hours, the makeshift Fairy Tail team finally arrived at their destination. It was a building that would be treated as a base of operations among the coalition. They had had to walk part of the way of course. It wasn’t far from where the train left, but the rain didn’t help. Juvia and Lucy brought umbrellas, Gray wore a jacket, and Gajeel said the rain didn’t bother him. It was dark by the time they arrived. They had hoped to arrive earlier in the day, but the trains were surprisingly busy. This was the best they could do.

The five of them, including Happy, walked into the building, glad to be out of the rain. Happy shook himself to dry off, almost like a normal cat. Gray stretched, and said, “Finally made it. Hate to say it, but that train ride almost made me miss Natsu.” Juvia, standing nearby, just said “hmph.” Lucy took a few steps and said, “Maybe we can ease up on the tension now. At least until we have to fight the horrible bad guys.” Lucy said this half-jokingly. But there was also a note of trepidation in her voice.

Gajeel came up beside her and said, “What’s the matter little girl, are you scared?”

“Yeah, of course I’m scared. We have to fight one of the worst dark guilds around and I don’t think I’m ready for it. But I’ll try my best anyway.” Lucy said. Gajeel was caught off guard by Lucy’s earnest response, and wasn’t sure how to respond. “Huh. Thought you would try denying it or something. Now its not as fun picking on you.” Lucy didn’t have a response to that. Gajeel was a little surprised Lucy didn’t have more of a problem with him, given their history. He had once kidnapped and beaten her, under orders from her own father. She didn’t seem to hold a grudge though.

As the group walked into the hall, they quickly realized they weren’t alone. There was already another guild here waiting for them. “Gray. Its been a while.” A voice said in the distance. A group approached them from across the hall. “Lyon. You’re here.” Gray said simply. The stern, white haired man who approached was Lyon Vastia. Formerly known as the “cold emperor”. He and Gray had both been adopted by Ur, technically making them brothers. Although Gray didn’t like to think of it in those terms. In fact, they have been lifelong rivals. Last time they met, they managed to make some degree of peace with each other. But there was still a tension there.

Lyon folded his arms. “My guild, Lamia Scale, was called on because we’re the best. I don’t know why you’re here.” He said. Gray chafed at this. “Fairy Tail is the best, you ass.”

“Really? That’s not what I’ve been hearing lately. You seem more like rats on a sinking ship.” Lyon said. Gray took a step towards him, preparing for a fight. But just then, a large man walked up towards them, putting a hand on Lyon’s shoulder. “That’s enough. We’re supposed to be allies here.” The man was the wizard saint Jura. One of the most powerful mages in the land. Lyon looked up at Jura, and put up his hands in resignation. Jura released him. “You’re lucky he was here.” Lyon said. Gray just scoffed at this. The rest of team Fairy Tail looked on with varying degrees of bemusement or impatience.

Juvia stepped forward. “Gray, I take it you have a history with this man? You never mentioned him before.” Gray looked back at her. “I’ve known him since we were kids. He’s always been an ass.” Lyon moved towards Gray. Gray put up his fists reflexively. But Lyon walked past him towards Juvia. He walked right up to her, much to her confusion. “Nice to meet you. Lyon Vastia. Like Gray, I’m an ice wizard. Only better. And you are?” Lyon smiled at her as he said this. Juvia still looked confused. “Juvia Lockser. I’m a water wizard.” Lyon’s smile widened. “Water and ice. A perfect match. Pleased to meet you Juvia.” He gently grabbed her hand, and kissed it, being very forward. The confused look on Juvia’s face gave way to understanding, and then to alarm. She turned to Gray.

“Gray?” She said, expecting him to react with jealousy, or at least come to her aid. Instead, he shrugged his shoulders and turned away. Juvia’s expression now turned to annoyance. She pulled her hand away from Lyon, and gave him a dirty look in turn, before walking away. “I don’t think she likes you.” Gajeel said to Lyon.

“Obviously Gray did something to upset her.” Lyon said. Sherry Blendy, Lyon’s teammate, looked on disapprovingly, but said nothing.

“So, the other teams haven’t arrived yet then?” Lucy said, changing the subject. “Actually, we’re already here.” Another voice said. Coming down a staircase were three young men, followed by an older, smaller man. “I’m Hibiki. This is Eve, and that’s Ren.” Hibiki introduced them. “And I am Ichiya Vandaley Kotobuki. And this mansion actually belongs to our master.” Said the smaller man. “Nice to meet you… ladies.” Hibiki said. He, along with Eve and Ren, began making a beeline towards Lucy and Juvia. Juvia was already put off from Lyon’s advances, and was even less receptive to this. Lucy began to look concerned too. Before the trio could make it to the girls, Gajeel stepped in between them.

“Alright, that’s enough. Back off pretty boys.” Gajeel said.

“Gajeel, I didn’t know you were so chivalrous.” Gray said. Gajeel shot Gray a look. “I’m not. I’m just tired of all this screwing around. We’re here to kick ass, not chase ass. Do that on your own time.” The Blue Pegasus trio shifted a little. “Maybe he has a point.” Ren said. They backed up a respectful distance, seemingly with reluctance.

A minute passed, with no one saying anything. Finally, Gray said, “So, there’s supposed to be one more team, right? Where are they?”

“They _are_ running late.” Lyon said. The rain was starting to pick up outside. The door suddenly opened. No one entered immediately, so the others began to wonder if the wind had blown it open. But after a moment, someone did enter. She walked in carrying an umbrella. The others all stared at her. It was a young girl, around twelve years old. She had long blue hair, and wore a blue and yellow dress. She closed her umbrella, and quickly walked towards the others. Before she could make it though, she tripped and fell onto her face. This brought a mixed reaction of concern and confusion from the other teams.

The young girl picked herself up with as much dignity as she could. She stood there blushing. At last, she spoke. “Sorry. Sorry I’m late. And for being so clumsy. I’m from Cait Shelter guild. They sent me.” She said bashfully. The others exchanged glances.

“Nice to meet you, but where’s the rest of your team?” Gray said.

The girl blushed again. “There… is no one else. Its just me. I’m all they sent.” Everyone started murmuring at this. After a moment she continued. “My name is Wendy. Wendy Marvell. I’m a sky dragon slayer. But I’m not very good. I don’t have any attack spells. But I can use healing magic. I’ll do the best I can to help.” As Wendy finished her speech, there was suddenly another voice from behind her.

“You’re not quite the only one they sent. I’m here too child.” Walking into the hall was a small white cat. Like Happy, but female, and wearing clothes. Wendy looked down at her companion. “Sorry, I didn’t forget you. I’m just nervous.” Wendy looked back to everyone else. “Um, this is Carla. She’s my friend. She’s also a member of Cait Shelter.” Carla stood there with her arms folded, looking haughty and unimpressed with the assemblage of mages in the room.

“Huh. Another talking cat. I thought Happy was the only one.” Gray said.

“Apparently not. I kinda wonder where they come from.” Lucy said.

“Who cares where she’s from? She’s here, and she’s hot. I’d like to get to know her.” It was of course Happy who said this.

“Remember what Gajeel said.” Gray said. Happy ignored him. He looked lovestruck. Or if not love, then something related to it. Carla noticed him, but ignored him.

Ichiya cleared his throat. “Now that everyone is here, its time to go over the plan.”

***  
Kardia Cathedral Cemetery. It was cold, and dark, and raining. The rain had risen to a moderate tempo, audibly thudding on the gravestones. The ground was soaked. Thunderclaps could occasionally be heard in the distance. It was not a good night to be out at all, let alone visiting a cemetery. Most people knew that, and were safely indoors. Likewise, the cemetery was also empty. Except for one person.

Mirajane Strauss stood at a grave, looking down at it. She had considered bringing flowers, but considering the weather she decided it was a good thing she hadn’t. Mirajane was carrying an umbrella, and wearing a jacket. Usually, she would come here with Elfman. This time she decided to come alone. It was a whim. Normally she tried to focus on the positives. But today, she found herself thinking about the people she had lost. The ones she had said goodbye to. The ones she never had a chance to say goodbye to. Ironically, some of those people were the ones she would have turned to for comfort in sad times.

She crouched down and looked at the grave, and the name on it. She mouthed the words. And then said, “I miss you”. Mirajane shut her eyes, listening to the sound of rain falling around her. She heard the droplets splashing off the marble, and pelting the soil. But she also heard something else. Footsteps. Right behind her. She opened her eyes and turned around. A hooded figure stood before her. Mirajane blinked.

“Seraiisa?” she said.

“Hi Mira.” Seraiisa said. Mirajane noticed that the girl was wearing the same white outfit that she wore when they first met, with the hood up. Apparently it was waterproof. “What are you doing here?” Mirajane asked.

“I came to see you. When I went to the guild, they said you would be here. I hope you don’t mind.” Mirajane looked down at the ground. “To be honest, I kind of wanted to be alone for a little bit. Don’t get me wrong, its nice to see you, its just…” Seraiisa held up a hand. “I get it. This is personal. I’m sorry. Normally I wouldn’t come here without asking, but… there’s something I wanted to talk about, and there might not be time later.” Mirajane was a little surprised by how serious Seraiisa sounded. Usually she was so light and casual. But then, Mirajane remembered what Seraiisa’s father had said, about her having had some awful experiences. _Everyone has hidden parts of themselves they don’t usually show the world_ , Mirajane thought.

Mirajane stood up and looked at Seraiisa. “Okay. We can talk. Let’s go back to the guild.” Seraiisa shook her head. “I’d prefer to talk here, in private.”

“Well… okay. If that’s what you want. What do you want to talk about?” Mirajane asked. But Seraiisa was now looking past Mirajane. Mirajane realized she was looking at the grave. Seraiisa spoke the name. “Lisanna Strauss. She’s who you came to see.” It was a statement, not a question. Mirajane looked at the grave, and then nodded. “Yeah. My sister. She… passed away a few years ago.” Seraiisa continued looking at the grave. “I’m sorry.” She said.

Seraiisa then looked up at Mirajane. “Is there anyone else here you came to visit?” Mirajane appeared surprised at this question. “Someone else? What do you mean?” In response, Seraiisa tuned her head and looked into a further part of the cemetery. Mirajane followed her gaze. She was looking at Erza’s monument. Even in the rain it was easy to see it. It dwarfed most of the other graves there. “Erza.” Mirajane said quietly. She turned to look at Seraiisa. “How do you know about her?” Seraiisa looked her in the eye.

“I know I’m a foreigner, but I’ve heard of Erza Scarlet. Many people have. She was pretty important.” Mirajane wore a bittersweet smile. “Yeah. She saved a lot of people. Up to the very end. They even made her a wizard saint.”

“Yeah. But she was important to you personally, right? She was part of your guild. She was your friend. Wasn’t she?” Mirajane blinked again, surprised by the direction this conversation had taken. “She was. Definitely. But these aren’t things you need to worry about.”

Seraiisa looked up at her. “Mirajane…” Seraiisa paused, seemingly hesitant to continue. “What if you _could_ have them back?” Mirajane appeared confused. “What? What do you mean?”

“I mean, what if you could have them alive and well again? What would you do to have that?” At this point, Mirajane decided that Seraiisa was indulging in the sort of fantasy hypotheticals that children sometimes do. Mirajane humored her with a smile. “Seraiisa, once people are gone, there’s no way to bring them back. Its hard, but that’s the way it is. But who knows? Maybe someday we’ll see them again in another life.”

Seraiisa shook her head. “No. I mean, what if you could bring them back? See them again here, and now. What would you do to have that? What would you give up? What if someone had to get hurt?” Mirajane was starting to become uncomfortable with this line of questioning.

“There are certain people that I miss. People I would love to see again. But there are certain lines that shouldn’t be crossed. Especially at someone else’s expense.” Mirajane turned back to the statue over Erza’s grave. “Actually, that’s how she died. Someone was trying to resurrect the Black Wizard Zeref, supposedly one of the most evil men to ever live. And they were willing to hurt a lot of other people to do it. Erza stopped them, at the cost of her own life. She was a hero.” Mirajane was starting to get misty eyed talking about this. But Seraiisa persisted.

“I’m not talking about bringing back Zeref. I’m talking about bringing back your friends. Good people. People you care about.” Mirajane looked down at the girl. “It doesn’t matter. Some things shouldn’t be tampered with. And I’m sure they would feel the same way too.”

“You’re sure about that?” Seraiisa asked.

“Positive.” Mirajane confirmed. Seraiisa considered this. She looked like she was about to say something else, but then thought better of it. “Okay. If that’s how you feel, then that’s that.” Seraiisa said. Mirajane wasn’t sure what brought on these questions. It made her feel concerned.

“So… was there anything else you wanted to say?” Mirajane asked. Seraiisa looked up at Mirajane, and for the first time since the conversation began, she smiled. “No. That’s it. Sorry for getting so gloomy and serious on you. I guess I’ve just been thinking about the past.” Mirajane smiled sympathetically. “Yeah, me too. I think I understand. Sometimes thoughts of the past can eat at you. But I think we should focus on the present, and the future. After all, you’ve got your whole life ahead of you.” Mirajane playfully booped her on the nose. Seraiisa giggled, and said, “Yup. I’ll try to remember that.”

Now that the tension was gone, Mirajane noticed that the rain was getting heavy, and the thunder more frequent. “We really should get indoors now. Let’s get back to Fairy Tail.” Mirajane reached out a hand. Seraiisa took Mirajane’s hand. “Okay.” She said. Hand in in hand, they both hurried back to the guild hall, where it was safe and warm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had previously mentioned that I was less than satisfied with the way the "Battle for Fairy Tail" section turned out in this story. I think that's because I tried to stick fairly close to the canon story, while making a few changes of my own based on differences in this "timeline". Which isn't a bad idea, but I feel the execution could have been better. So, for the Oracion Seis story, I'm not going to try to just recreate the canon story with a few changes. Instead, I'll use the canon as a starting point, but then take it in a different direction based on what I feel works for the story I want to tell. That being said, the Oracion Seis will play an important role in this story, even if its not the same role as in the canon.
> 
> I should also note that, as you may have noticed, I decided to significantly tone down the silliness (and creepiness) of Blue Pegasus. I did this for the same reason I decided to tone down Lucy's spirits. I want this story to have a certain tone, and they clash with that. Besides, if I'm being honest I'm not a big fan of the Blue Pegasus guys. Don't expect them to play a big part in this story.


	11. Lost Prayers

The coalition of Fairy Tail, Cait Shelter, Lamia Scale, and Blue Pegasus had set out shortly after the briefing. They had a plan for approaching the Oracion Seis. They were supposed to split into a few groups, with a mixture of powerful and support members. They would hopefully track down the Seis members individually and eliminate them. Because they were each so very powerful, trying to fight the whole guild all at once was not advisable. Unfortunately, the terrible weather of all things ended up complicating things. The rain and darkness made it a lot harder to see. It would make it harder to find the Oracion Seis. And it certainly was not ideal for travelling on foot.

The group wandered through the forested area, trying to stick to the clearer paths. They were carrying a couple of magical lacrimas with them that emitted light, to help them see. Hibiki had also been able to use his magic to create a shield barrier to block the rain, and prevent them from getting too wet. They knew the Oracion Seis were nearby, and they were hoping they could catch them off guard. So far it wasn’t looking too good though. They weren’t very inconspicuous walking around like this all together, carrying lacrimas and shielding. They were going to need to split up.

Team Fairy Tail were at the front. Gray was keeping a sharp eye out for any sign of danger. Lucy was walking behind him, silently worrying about having to face such powerful foes. Juvia was a little away from them, seemingly lost in thought. Gejeel was scanning the area. Wendy Marvell, the girl they had just met, had caught up to him and was walking next to him. Wendy looked up at him. “So, um, you’re a dragon slayer too right? That’s what I’ve heard.” Wendy asked. Gajeel looked down at her. “Yeah, so what?”

“Well, its just that I thought that since you’re a dragon slayer, and I’m a dragon slayer, maybe you could teach me a few things?” Wendy looked up at him hopefully.

“I don’t think so. I’m not looking to be a teacher, or a daddy figure. Find someone else.” Gajeel said. He didn’t sound angry or even annoyed when he said it, but he did sound firm. Wendy looked disappointed. “But…” she began, but just slumped her shoulders. After that, they walked in silence for a few minutes before coming to a clearing.

They group stood there, seeing several paths they could take. Jura Neekis spoke up. “I think we should split up here. Divide into two teams moving together. Sound good?” He said. Gray nodded. “Fine by me.” Lyon stepped forward. “Good idea. Maybe Lamia Scale should go with Fairy Tail.” He said, while eyeing Juvia. Sherry stepped forward as well. “Lyon, maybe we should go with Blue Pegasus instead. Let the little girl and the cat go with Fairy Tail.” Lyon shrugged. “Fine. But Juvia could at least accompany us. She doesn’t seem very happy with Fairy Tail.” Sherry and Juvia both looked annoyed at this suggestion.

“Just get out of here Lyon, we don’t need you.” Gray said. Jura spoke up again; “Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus travelling together sounds like a good idea. Unfortunately, that means the other group won’t have a shield to protect them from the rain.” He stated. Gray shrugged. “I don’t mind getting wet.” He said.

“Is that really true Gray?” Juvia asked bitterly. Gray looked confused. “What?” he said simply. “Never mind.” She said.

“Then its decided. Lamia Scale, you’re with us.” Ichiya said. Jura nodded, and Sherry looked relieved. “We’ll contact you soon. I’ll use my archive ability.” Hibiki said. “Good luck.” Lucy called. Lamia Scale and Blue Pegauss went westward together, and disappeared. Now, the Fairy Tail team was left with the Cait Shelter “team” of Wendy and Carla.

“So, which way do we go?” said Lucy. Happy raised his paw. “I could go up and fly around, scout things out.” In response, Carla gave an annoyed sigh. “First of all, its stupid and reckless to go flying around in unknown territory in this weather. Secondly, what if the enemy is expecting something like that and sees you? Nobody would be there to help you if you get caught. Try using your head.” Happy looked dejected. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He was hoping to impress her, but instead just annoyed her.

Gray decided to speak up. “Look, the other teams went west, so we go east. Let’s keep it simple. Unless someone has a better idea.” He looked at the others, and nobody seemed to disagree. “Yeah, that makes sense.” Lucy said. Juvia nodded in agreement. And so, they all started heading towards the east path. Along the way, they tried to use the tress for cover from the rain when possible.

As they moved onward, Juvia spoke up. “So, what are we looking for? Something called ‘Nirvana’?”

“We’re looking for the Oracion Seis before they can get to Nirvana. Not that we know exactly what they’re planning to do.” Gray responded.

“My guildmaster said that Nirvana is incredibly dangerous and destructive. It can turn good people bad, and bad people good. That’s what he told me, anyway.” Wendy added.

Lucy appeared concerned. “That does sound creepy. But if we can stop the Oracion Seis in time then that won’t be a problem, right?” As Lucy said this, she almost walked right into Gajeel, who had stopped. Lucy looked at him, confused. The others stopped too. “What is it, Gajeel?” Gray asked. Without turning around, Gajeel said, “You don’t hear that? I guess its cause you’re not a dragon slayer. There’s a fight going on not too far from here. A big one.” Gray shook his head. “I don’t hear anything.” He turned to Wendy. “How about you? You’re a dragon slayer. You hear a fight?” he asked.

Wendy looked surprised that they were asking something important of her, but after a moment she focused on listening to see if she could hear what Gajeel was hearing. “I didn’t notice anything before. But now that I’m listening… I think I hear something. It does sound like a bunch of people fighting. I think they’re casting spells.” Wendy pointed in a direction. Gajeel nodded in confirmation.

“Guess we’re heading that way then.” Gray said. Juvia turned to him. “Gray, are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, I’ll follow you, but we don’t know what’s over there.”

“Its all we have to go on right now. We can sneak over, so they won’t see us.”

“All seven of us?” Happy said. “Yes happy, all seven of us. Now let’s move.” Gray said. He moved towards the direction Wendy had pointed. “Who made him the boss?” Gajeel muttered. But they all followed.

They slowly moved through the tress and vegetation, trying not to make too much noise. It was wet, and cold, and dark. Juvia was awkwardly holding the light lacrima while trying to stay low. For the non-dragon slayers, the only prominent sound they could hear was the rain falling against everything. It was a demoralizing atmosphere, but they all knew they had a job to do.

After moving through the greenery for several minutes, they finally came to a clearing, where they found the source of the noises. They could all hear it clearly now. And see it. Dozens of mages all battling each other. There were several bodies on the ground. The group stared at the spectacle while trying not to be seen themselves. “What the hell is this?” Gray asked.

“Who are they?” Wendy asked.

“I don’t know, but it looks like there are two factions. One with hoods, and another that… kind of look like monkeys.” Juvia said.

“Monkeys?” Gajeel said. He looked closer. “Yeah, I guess they sort of do.”

“Wait a minute, I think I know that one. They’re Naked Mummy, the guild that attacked Love and Lucky.” Lucy said.

“That’s the one you took out single handed, right? If you could do that, they should be no problem for all of us.” Gajeel said. Lucy wasn’t sure how to take that.

“I think I recognize the other group too.” Juvia said. “I’m pretty sure that’s Red Hood. They work under Oracion Seis.”

“Oh yeah. I thought they looked familiar.” Gajeel said.

“Actually, Naked Mummy works for Oracion Seis too. They’re both on the same side. Or at least, they’re supposed to be.” Juvia added.

“Then why the hell are they fighting each other?” Gray said.

“Good question.” Happy said. The group watched as the two supposedly allied factions battled. The Naked Mummy members were mostly using magic guns, while Red Hood were using staffs, with some pict magic thrown in. A few of the participants had even resorted to brawling with their fists. It was turning into a melee.

“What do we do now?” Wendy asked nervously.

“Well, we could just wait for them to finish up with each other, and then question whoever is left standing. We can take ‘em.” Gray said. But as he said that, one of the Red Hood members turned in their direction. He pointed and shouted something. “Or we could just get involved right now!” Gray said. He stood up and formed ice blades from his arms.

“So much for being sneaky.” Gajeel said.

“I guess we’re doing this.” Lucy said. The rest of the group stood up, preparing themselves. By this point both Red Hood and Naked Mummy now saw them, and they both looked like they wanted to go at it. Some of them began charging towards team Fairy Tail. “Let’s do this.” Gray said, and ran towards the approaching enemy.

***  
Back at Fairy Tail, things were relatively quiet. Evergreen had decided to go home because of the weather. Bickslow didn’t want to look for a job solo, so he left too. Cana was sitting in a corner with a strong drink. Alzack and Bisca were sitting close together, having a conversation. Nab Lasaro was indecisively looking at the request board, as usual. Macao was trying to help Romeo learn some magic. And Elfman was having a meal at a table.

As all of this was going on, the front door of the guild opened, and in walked Mirajane followed closely by Seraiisa. Mirajane closed the door, and put her umbrella away. Seraiisa had stayed dry thanks to her hooded robe, but the robe was dripping water all over the place. Seraiisa looked down at the puddle. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll put a towel down.” Mirajane said.

As Mirajane went to clean up, Seraiisa walked further into the guild. Spotting Elfman, she said, “Hey Elfman, nice to see you again.” Elfman looked down at her, swallowed his food, and said, “Yeah, likewise. You, uh, keeping out of trouble?” She tilted her head slightly, and smiled. “For now.” Elfman didn’t know how to respond to this, so he just shrugged and went back to eating. Seraiisa still stood there. “You don’t like me, do you?” she asked. Elfman turned back to her.

“What? I never said that.” He replied.

“No, you didn’t.” she said, looking at him with a strange expression. But then she smiled again. “That’s okay though.” She said. Elfman raised an eyebrow. At that moment Mirajane walked over to them.

“What are you guys talking about?” Mirajane asked cheerfully. Seraiisa looked up at her. “Just chatting. I think Elfman wants to be left alone to finish eating though.” Mirajane looked at Elfman. “Elfman, be nice to her.” She scolded. “I was.” He protested. But Seraiisa had already found something else to interest her. She moved over towards Alzack and Bisca. They were chatting about something, and holding hands under the table, while trying to be discreet about it. They didn’t notice the little girl walk up. “Hi.” She said, startling them. “Hey, are you two a couple? You’re holding hands.” She said bluntly. They both immediately unclasped their hands, and turned red with embarrassment. “N-no, we’re not… I mean.” Bisca said. “We’re just friends. I mean, good friends. I mean…” Alzack trailed off. Seraiisa tilted her head at them. “Seraiisa, no.” Mirajane said from behind her. Mirajane wagged her finger at the girl. “You shouldn’t ask them that.” By this point Bisca and Alzack had gotten up and quickly left.

“Why not?” Seraiisa asked.

“Because some people aren’t comfortable talking about that sort of thing.” Mirajane explained. Seraiisa tilted her head again, expression blank. Regarding her, Mirajane remembered that she’s just a kid, and a foreigner to boot. Of course she won’t understand things like that. “Its fine. I know you didn’t mean anything by it. Just try to be careful about that, okay?” Seraiisa nodded. “Okay.”

Seraiisa stood there a moment, seeming to consider something. Mirajane waited to see if she wanted to say something. Seraiisa looked up at her and said, “I think its time. I should call my family here now. They can be here very soon, I think.” Mirajane looked at a window, considering the awful weather. “Are you sure? Maybe tonight isn’t the best night.”

“Tonight _is_ the best night. It was decided.” Seraiisa said. Mirajane nodded slowly. “Okay. I’ll go let master Makarov know about this.” As Mirajane started to walk away, Seraiisa grabbed her arm.

“Mira, can I use one of the tables to set up? I’m going to contact them telepathically, and I need to prepare.” Mirajane put a finger to her chin. “Couldn’t you just use a lacrima to call them?”

“They said that using my power was the best way. We all agreed.” Seraiisa said with a serious expression.

“Okay. If that’s how you want to do it, I guess that’s okay. Its not very crowded tonight, so we can spare a table.” Mirajane said.

Seraiisa gave a small smile. “Thanks Mira.”

“You’re welcome. You know, I should come up with a nickname for you too.” Mirajane said. She then turned and walked off. After watching Mirajane leave, Seraiisa turned and looked for an empty table. She found one near the front of the guild. Seraiisa walked over to the table. She reached into her robe, and pulled out a few things. A couple of vials, and a bag. She opened the bag, and poured out a green powdery substance in a circle onto the table. She then opened a vial, and trickled a small amount of liquid into the center. What she was doing was attracting some attention from nearby guild members, both curious and confused. She then began touching the symbols on her robe in a strange way. She made sure to touch each symbol using only two fingers, and was muttering something to herself. This went on for a few minutes, and the symbols began to glow, and the liquid began to smoke a little. She closed her eyes for added concentration, and stopped muttering. She stood there silently, fingers still touching symbols on her sleeves.

While all of this was going on, Mirajane had come back with Makarov. The two of them were watching Seraiisa’s strange ritual from a distance. By this point much of the guild was now watching the spectacle. Mirajane watched this with a confused look on her face, while Makarov wore a more serious expression. Neither said anything. After another minute, Seraiisa suddenly opened her eyes. The symbols on her robe stopped glowing. The smoke dissipated.

Seraiisa turned, and noticed everyone watching her, including Mirajane and Makarov. She appeared uncertain for a moment. But then she decided to ignore most of the stares, and just looked at Mirajane and Makarov directly. “They’re coming. They’ll be here soon.” She said.

***  
Gray swung his arm at a hooded foe. An ice blade happened to be attached to his arm at that moment, so the damage to the enemy was impressive. He went down hard. Gray then swung his other arm at a member of Naked Mummy just a couple of feet away. His jaw cracked, and he fell. Something suddenly hit Gray in the head from behind, causing him to stagger and fall to one knee. Holding his head, he turned and saw that a Red Hood member had struck him with a staff. That same Red Hood lunged at him, maybe hoping to impale him. Gray managed to grab the staff, and hold onto it. Gray got to his feet, and he and the opponent struggled with the staff. But a magic blast came rushing from nearby. One of the Naked Mummy members had fired their magic gun. Still holding the staff, Gray swung the Red Hood into the magic blast, avoiding damage himself. Gray then used an ice blast to propel the man into the one who had fired the gun, knocking them both to the ground.

Nearby, Gajeel was fighting several Red Hoods. Two of them tried to attack him head on, but he took them down with a quick flurry of fists. As he was doing that, three more were using pict magic to summon a large monster to fight for them. Gajeel looked at the summoned monster, and readied himself. It slashed at him, and he barely dodged it. He countered with an Iron Dragon’s Club attack, launching a metal pole from his arm at the beast, knocking it back. He then followed up with an Iron Dragon Roar attack, knocking the monster and the Red Hood members to the ground. “These guys are too easy.” He said. He didn’t notice that close by, Wendy was watching him, observing his moves and techniques.

In another part of the clearing, Lucy was surrounded by no less than eight Naked Mummy members. Lucy stood in the center, looking prepared for a fight. But the dark guild seemed unconcerned. “You got lucky last time little girl. This time will be different.” A rather large member said. Lucy took a step back. She reached for a key, and the large Mummy pulled a magic gun. As he fired, Lucy dodged to the side. However, she was struck by another member. She hit the ground. Four of the members walked over to her, at which point Taurus burst though the ground. Lucy had been able to summon him after all. He swung his axe, knocking them all down. He slammed it into the ground for good measure, insuring they would stay down. The large Mummy fired the gun at Taurus several times, hurting him. Taurus rushed at the man in a rage. They engaged in close combat.

Meanwhile, Lucy got to her feet, but was brought to her knees with a knee to the abdomen. Three of the members had avoided Taurus’ attacks. “Fun’s over, bitch.” A sleazy Naked Mummy said to her. Lucy gritted her teeth as the man aimed his gun at her. The man’s head snapped back from a hard blast of water. He staggered, and was hit with another, larger blast, knocking him to the ground in a wet heap. The other two stared at their fallen comrade. While they were distracted, Lucy uppercutted one of them in the jaw as hard as she could. He fell to his knees. Before the remaining member could react, Lucy kicked him with a “Lucy Kick”, knocking him down as well. Juvia fired a final shot at the kneeling man to finish it. Standing there for a second, Lucy turned back and saw Juvia. “Thanks for the help!” Lucy said gratefully.

“Don’t mention it. I noticed your cow man had gotten jumped by a few other guys, so I decided I could give you a hand while he was busy.” Juvia said. After Juvia said that, Lucy suddenly clutched her hand and grimaced. “Ahhhh.” Lucy groaned.

“What’s wrong?” Juvia asked.

“I think I might have broken something when I punched that guy. I’m not used to punching people.” Lucy tried to move a finger, but she flinched when that caused her pain. “Wendy has healing magic. She can fix it.” Juvia suggested. Lucy nodded. “Good idea. At least the rain has eased up. For now.” By that point, the fighting was pretty much over. Lucy and Juvia, along with the rest of the team, gathered together as a group.

While Wendy tended to Lucy’s hand, Gray, Gajeel and Juvia looked for any dark guild members who were still conscious. Gray found a Naked Mummy member who was still awake. He was bruised, but still able to talk. Gray picked him up, while Juvia stood nearby in case he tried something. “Alright, I’ll make this simple. Tell me where to find your masters. The Oracion Seis.” Gray said.

The bruised man looked at Gray defiantly. “I’m not telling you anything.” This annoyed Gray. “Don’t think I won’t hurt you.” He threatened. “Gray, maybe this isn’t the best way to handle this.” Juvia suggested. Gray ignored her. “Just tell me where they are and what they’re doing right now, and you won’t get hurt.” The man spit in Gray’s face. Gray punched him, and he fell to the ground. Gray stalked away, annoyed. Juvia said nothing.

Further away, Gajeel had found a Red Hood member who was still conscious. “Alright, my turn.” Gajeel said. “Maybe we should ask why these guys were all fighting each other?” Lucy said. Her hand was healed, so she had walked over to the others with Wendy and Carla in tow. “I think that’s a good idea.” Said Juvia, walking over to join them. Gajeel nodded slightly. “Okay, fine. Why were you fighting the monkey men over there? You’re all supposed to be on the same side, right?” The hooded man appeared to smile, but it may have been a grimace of pain. “We _were_ on the same side. Not anymore.” He replied.

“What happened?” asked Juvia.

The man, sitting on the ground, appeared to consider. “We had a change of heart. The Red Hood I mean. Decided there was a better way.”

“A better way to what?” Gajeel said.

“To everything.” The man said vaguely.

“That doesn’t exactly answer anything.” Lucy said. Gajeel was now getting impatient. “So, are you still working for the Seis or what?” he asked. The Red Hood shook his head. “Nah. They are though.” He said, pointing to the downed Naked Mummy guild. “But Red Hood is on a different path now.”

“So, can you tell us where your _former_ bosses are?” Gray asked. The Red Hood took another moment to consider. “I guess there’s no reason not to. Sure, I’ll tell you. Or at least, I’ll tell you where we last knew them to be. Can’t guarantee they’re still there.”

“Good enough.” Gajeel said.

“Wait, maybe we should ask him more about who he’s working for now. What if his new boss is around here somewhere?” Lucy interjected. Gray thought about this for a second. “Whoever you’re working for now, are they still around here?” Gray asked. The Hood shook his head. “No. They’re gone now. You won’t find them here. And that’s all I’ll say about that.”

“Fine by me. If they’re not here, then they’re not our problem.” Gajeel said.

“Our priority is the Oracion Seis.” Gray agreed. “Now, where are they?” Gray asked. The Red Hood told them.

***  
Makarov was sitting with Mirajane at a table. He often spoke with her about important guild matters. Officially she was just a waitress, but in many ways she served as an assistant to Makarov, and helped him with certain aspects of running the guild. Makarov also valued her opinion. Despite her young age, she had a way of seeing to the heart of things in a way that many others couldn’t.

“Mirajane, can I ask you something?” Makarov began. He looked at her seriously. Mirajane was a little surprised by his demeanor. “Sure, what is it?” she said. Makarov paused a moment, collecting his thoughts. He looked over towards the front of the guild, where Seraiisa was. She was sitting with Levy, talking. “That girl… Do you trust her?” he said, still looking at the girl in question. Mirajane followed his gaze, watching Seraiisa. “Yes, I do. You don’t?” Mirajane asked.

Makarov turned back to Mirajane. “I’m not sure. We don’t know much about her, do we?” Mirajane shrugged. “You didn’t know much about me and my family when we first came here either.”

Makarov nodded. “True. But that ritual she performed… it was very unusual. Unsettling. I know some magic requires rituals, but not quite like that.”

“Well, she is foreign. Her ways are different.” Mirajane said.

“I’m aware. But I’ve also spent a fair amount of time studying magic from all over. I’ve never heard of anything exactly like that. Although, something about it did seem familiar…” he trailed off. There was suddenly a banging noise at the front of the guild. Makarov turned. “What is that?” he asked. The noise repeated. Mirajane looked at the front door, which was currently closed. “I think someone is knocking on the door.” she observed.

“That’s weird.” Makarov said.

“Yeah, the door isn’t locked, and people usually just walk right in.” Mirajane agreed. The noise repeated again, louder this time. Towards the front, Levy got up from the table. “Um, I’ll get it, I guess.” She walked over to the door and opened it. “You know, it was op-“ Levy stopped mid-sentence. She stood there a moment, confused. Something reached out and wrapped itself around her midsection, and lifted her. Levy’s confusion turned to panic. She struggled in the grip of whatever had her. Several other mages in the guild stood up to help her. But Levy was pulled out of the guild to the outside. A few Fairy Tail mages, along with Seraiisa, now stood at the door.

Makarov and Mirajane rushed over to see what was happening. There were several ominous figures outside of the door. One of them had Levy. The one holding Levy was a young woman in a red dress, with long red hair. That hair is what she used to grab Levy, and it was currently wrapped tightly around her. There were a few other figures, including a short, pink skinned man, and a slender dark-haired man, and another tall, lanky man in a mask and hood. However, there was also one person in the group that Makarov immediately recognized. “Ivan!” Makarov said. Ivan Dryer, son of Makarov Dryer, smiled maliciously. “Hello father. Its been a long time.”

***

The Fairy Tail / Cait Shelter team had been traveling for a little while. The man they interrogated had told them where to find the Oracion Seis, assuming they were still there. The rain was light at the moment, but the team was still using the tree canopy for cover whenever possible. They still had the light lacrima, which fortunately had not been damaged during the fight, since Wendy held onto it while the others fought. Wendy was still carrying it, and was walking next to Carla. “You should have brought a jacket child, you’re going to get sick.” Carla scolded. Wendy looked downcast. “I’m sorry. I should have thought of that. But the lacrima is keeping me warm. So, maybe it’ll be okay.”

“Hmph.” Was Carla’s only response. Happy sensed an opportunity, and decided to move closer to Carla. “Hey Carla, I’m Happy. Nice to meet you.” He said. Carla eyed him irritably. “We already met earlier.”

“As a group, yeah. But I wanted to say hi personally.” Happy said.

“Why?” Carla asked.

“Just being friendly. Also, are you dating anyone?” he replied.

“Ugh.” Was Carla’s response.

Meanwhile, Juvia was walking beside Gray. Gray looked focused, staring straight ahead. Juvia tried to appear focused too, but kept stealing glances at him. “So Gray…” she began. He didn’t turn to face her. She started to say something, but then thought better of it. She then decided to say something else: “Gray, even if that man was telling the truth about where the Oracion Seis are, do you really think it’s a good idea to just go after them directly like this? Each member is supposed to be powerful enough to take on a whole guild. And there’s six of them.” She said with some dread. Now, Gray turned to face her.

“I hear what you’re saying, but we’ve got a mission here. We have to do this, the sooner the better. Besides, maybe we’ll get lucky and only a few of them will be there. Even taking out a few would be better than nothing.” He said. Juvia seemed to accept this, but still looked concerned. Lucy, who was right behind them, spoke up; “You know, Hibiki said that he would be in contact with us. Maybe if we could get in touch with him, we could ask for backup from the other guilds.”

“Yeah, that would be nice, but how do we go about contacting them?” Gray asked. As if on cue, they suddenly heard Hibiki’s voice. “Hey guys. I’ve been following you.” Most of the team was startled by this sudden intrusion. “What the hell…” Gajeel said.

“Uh, did anyone else hear that?” Lucy said.

“Relax. Its Hibiki. I’m using archive to monitor you, and I’m contacting you telepathically.”

“Oh, is that all?” Carla said sarcastically.

“Well, I guess its nice that someone’s watching out for us.” Happy said.

Hibiki resumed what he was saying. “Anyway, you’re heading towards the Oracion Seis right now, right? You know where they are?”

“Yeah, we do. We think.” Gray said. Gray relayed the directions to Hibiki. “So, you didn’t run into any of them?” Gray asked.

“No, we didn’t. We ran into some of their henchmen though. Funny thing is, it seemed like they weren’t all on the same side.” Hibiki said.

“We had a similar experience.” Juvia interjected.

“I guess we were lucky. If they had still been working together, we would have had a harder time.” Lucy said.

Hibiki considered this. “Maybe. Whether it’s a good thing depends on what caused the split. Anyway, our team is a ways off from yours, so if you want backup then its going to take us a little time to reach you.”

“That’s fine. We’ll go on ahead, and you can meet us there.” Gray said.

“You sure? It might be safer to wait.” Hibiki said.

“Yeah. This way we can at least scout out the location, see if they’re even there. We’ll try to hold off on a fight until you guys show up. No promises though.” Gray said.”

“Okay then. See you there.” Hibiki sounded unsure, but accepted Gray’s decision.

“Later.” Gray said. And then Hibiki’s voice was gone. “Alright, let’s get moving.” With that, the group moved forward to find the enemy. They walked for a couple of miles. They stayed on their guard the whole way, although they managed to avoid any serious trouble. Eventually, they came to the area. As they got closer, they became increasingly sure that they were in the right place, due to a distinctive landmark. It was the giant structure known as Nirvana. It was quite imposing. But there was something unexpected as well.

The group moved close to the structure. “So, this is Nirvana?” Juvia asked.

“This is it, yeah.” Wendy confirmed. “But this isn’t supposed to be here.” She was referring to what Niravana was surrounded by. The base of Nirvana was enclosed by a rust colored metallic structure. It appeared simultaneously old and worn, but also highly advanced. Emanating from this structure was what appeared to be a translucent magical barrier enclosing Nirvana as a whole, apparently cutting off access to it.

“What is this?” Gray asked. Gray touched it experimentally. “It feels pretty strong.”

“Do you think the Oracion Seis are in there?” Juvia asked.

“No clue. If they are, then its gonna take us a while to get to them.” Gray answered.

“Maybe we should look around a little. Maybe we’ll find some clue that can help us?” Lucy suggested. Gray thought this over, but Gajeel spoke up first. “I smell something. Its hard to tell with the rain, but I think there’s someone nearby. Gajeel looked around, trying to find the source. The others started looking too, suddenly becoming more alert. Without saying anything, Gajeel starting walking towards a bunch of ruins close to Nirvana. Lucy looked at Gray. “Should we follow him?” she asked.

“I guess we better, in case he runs into something. Just be careful.” They slowly starting moving through the broken dwellings, keeping their eyes open for an attack. They didn’t hear anything, except for the sound of rain patter everywhere. That, combined with the darkness, made it hard to find anything. “This is creepy.” Lucy whispered. She kept a hand on her celestial keys just in case. Wendy hung back a little from the others, lest her light give them away. Gray was checking around every corner, but saw nothing. He was tense, but also wondered if this was a waste of time. Time that could be spent breaking through that barrier to get inside. Gajeel was still trying to search using his nose. He stopped, and looked around. It was pretty dark here, so it was hard to see. He turned back to Wendy. “Hey kid, get over here. I need your light.” He said. Wendy quickly walked over to where Gajeel was, with Carla tagging along. As Wendy walked up to him, the surrounding area was illuminated. It was definitely easier to see now. They also now noticed something. There was one building that was half absorbed into the tress, with the front wall torn off. It had wide stairs leading up to a second floor. At the top of those stairs was a figure, watching them. Gajeel readied himself into a fighting stance once he saw this.

The figure at the top didn’t move. It appeared to just be sitting there. Gray moved closer to the building. “Who are you?” he said. The figure turned its head towards him. “Well, Well. Fancy meeting you here.” A masculine voice said. Gray turned to Wendy. “Wendy, give me the light. And stay back.”

“O-okay.” Wendy said, handing him the sphere. Gray, light in hand, moved closer to the figure. The area became brighter. Gajeel and Juvia stayed somewhat close for backup, with Lucy still ready to summon a spirit if need be. As the light hit the man up top, his appearance became visible. He was a blond-haired man dressed in red and white clothes. As Gray got closer, he could see there was someone else there too. A man with black and white hair, and heavy makeup. He appeared to be sleeping.

“That’s close enough.” The blonde said. Gray stopped. “You’re Oracion Seis?” Gray said. The blonde grinned. “Good guess. Now, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll turn around and leave. You don’t want to pick a fight with us.”

“Wrong. That’s exactly why we’re here. Your buddy there is asleep, so its just you against us. So maybe just surrender, and tell us where your leader is. We’ll show mercy if you do.” Gray said. The blonde’s smile widened.

“Our leader is around, but you don’t want to be here when he gets back. Trust me. All of you together couldn’t take Brain.” The blonde said. Gray scoffed. “Brain, huh? And what should I call you?”

“You can call me Racer. Now leave before I show you how I got that name.” Racer said. Gajeel suddenly walked further up the steps, closer to Racer. “Hey, did you hear what I just said? You don’t want to fight me.” Racer said. Gajeel grinned.

“You might be right. Its not very sporting fighting a lamed opponent.” Gajeel said, stopping just a few feet from Racer.

“What?” Gray said, confused. He then looked closer at the man, and noticed one of his legs looked odd. Racer was trying to hide it, but it looked like his leg was injured. Maybe even broken. “Huh. So that’s why you’re just sitting there.” Gray observed. “That changes things.”

“Yeah, your friends ain’t here to help you, and you can’t even walk. Better start talking. Where _are_ your friends anyway?” Gajeel said. Racer grimaced.

“I’m kind of wondering how he broke his leg. Did he trip and fall or something?” Happy said. It was unclear if he was joking or not. As Happy said this, Lucy noticed something. With the light closer to him, Lucy noticed bruises on Racer’s face. “I think someone else did this to him. Does it have anything to do with the dark guilds fighting each other earlier?”

Gray paused a moment. “Yeah, I had wondered about that. Some of your goons turned on you. Why is that? They do this to you?” Racer scowled. “No. Those losers couldn’t touch me. It was someone else. Some… outsiders came here. Started getting involved in our business.”

Team Fairy Tail exchanged glances. “Outsiders? You mean another guild?” Juvia asked. Racer shrugged. “I don’t know if they’re a guild. I’ve never heard of them before. Just some outside group.”

“So, this faction; they turned your goons against you and broke your leg?” Gray asked. Racer looked at him. “I guess there’s no reason not to tell you. Yeah, they turned some of our guys, somehow. But my leg? They didn’t do that. They never lifted a finger against me.” Racer explained.

“Then who did?” Gray asked. Racer looked him in the eye. “My so called friends did this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that the presence of Raven Tail might seem a little weird here. In particular, the fact that Flare would likely have been too young to be in the group at this point, going by the canon. However, for the purposes of this story I'm going to play fast and loose with some of the characters' ages. Especially since I don't plan to do a seven year time skip. If need be, you can just say "its different because its an AU".


	12. Revelations

An old enemy had come to visit Fairy Tail. A peaceful night at the guild suddenly turned violent. The dark guild known as Raven Tail stood outside the entrance to the Fairy Tail guild. There were five of them, including Ivan Dryer, the leader of the guild. The red headed woman was using her long red hair to hold Levy. Several Fairy Tail members, including Makarov, were on the other side of the door, standing off with the unwelcome guests. Makarov grit his teeth in anger.

“What do you think you’re doing Ivan? Let her go now.” Makarov said. Ivan just sneered. “Why should I do that? I have a hostage, which means you have to listen to me.” Ivan said. Makarov’s anger deepened.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you won’t get away with this. You shouldn’t have come here.” Makarov said. Jet and Droy, the other members of Levy’s team known as Shadowgear, had come rushing over when they heard Levy was in danger. “You better not hurt Levy, or we’ll make you regret it!” Droy said. Ivan just scoffed at this. He turned to the red headed woman. “Flare, they don’t seem to take this seriously. Maybe they need convincing.” Ivan said. Flare grinned widely with an insane look on her face. Her hair around Levy tightened, and part of it wrapped around her throat. For further emphasis, the tips of her hair ignited into flame, coming just an arm’s length from Levy’s face. Flare turned her sadistic expression to the Fairy members at the door. “Better do as he says, or she dies.” Flare said bluntly. Makarov’s face became stony.

“Ivan. Listen to me. Whatever you’re planning, you can’t win here. I’m going to give you one chance to leave. Put her down, and walk away, and you’ll leave unharmed. But if you don’t, you _will_ regret it.” Makarov looked ready for a fight.” Ivan’s expression faltered. He suddenly looked unsure. He looked at the Fairy Tail mages gathered, some of them quite powerful. Ivan moved back a step. “Well, I…” Ivan began. Before Ivan said anything else, a hand touched his arm. It was the hooded/masked man. It wasn’t a very noticeable gesture. In fact, Makarov was the only one who really noticed it. Makarov took note of the masked man. He was wearing a long brown robe, which appeared to be made of leather. He wore a mask that covered his whole head, also brown leather. The mask seemed to have symmetrical designs on the front. The man’s real eyes were covered by large white circles set into the mask. Ivan still appeared uncertain. The masked man’s grip on Ivan tightened a little. Makarov also thought he saw the man’s “eyes” glow a blueish color. But it was hard to tell in the dim lighting. After a few seconds, Ivan’s expression changed again. He looked back up at Makarov, with a slightly crazed look on his face. “You want me to run away? That won’t happen. I won’t back down, old man. I want you to come out here, alone, and face me or she dies!” he said, pointing to Levy. Flare, holding Levy, saw some of the mages preparing to attack, some of them charging their magic. “Don’t try anything, or I’ll snap her neck! I’ll do it.” She said, becoming more wary.

Makarov tried to quickly process all of this. _This doesn’t make any sense. Why would Ivan do this? I know he hates Fairy Tail, but this kind of reckless, head on challenge isn’t his style. He’s a schemer and a cheater. And that masked man… who is he?_ Makarov thought these things while Ivan was making his threats. The thought that Ivan was being manipulated somehow had suddenly occurred to Makarov, which changed the situation. It made things more dangerous and unpredictable. Makarov held up a hand.

“Fine. I’ll come out. You better not hurt her though.” He said. Makarov slowly stepped out of the guild. “You can’t be serious.” Macao said from further back. “Master, please be careful.” Mirajane said. As Makarov walked out, the masked man looked inside the guild, and noticed Seraiisa standing behind the other mages, watching all of this. He seemed to be staring straight at her. Mirajane noticed this, and walked over to Seraiisa. “Maybe you should go into the back until this is over. It could be dangerous for you here.” Seraiisa looked up. “Don’t worry about me. You need to worry about Levy. She needs help.” Mirajane nodded. “Yeah.”

Makarov walked up to Ivan. They locked eyes. The other members of Raven Tail had backed up a little, giving the two of them some room. “Well? What do you want?” Makarov asked. Ivan smiled.

“That’s simple. I want your guild. I want you to surrender Fairy Tail to me.”

***  
Back at the site of the ruins, near Nirvana, Team Fairy Tail were talking with Racer, while his companion slept nearby. The rain was picking up again, but the trees and ruined buildings offered some shelter. The rain and the dark created an oppressive atmosphere around them. Gray once again took charge with asking questions.

“First of all, your leader Brain; where is he right now?” Gray asked Racer. Racer looked at him. “He went off to investigate. He didn’t say when he’d be back. Not that I would help you ambush him or anything.” Racer said.

“What is he investigating.?” Gray said. Racer turned his head in the direction of nirvana, still surrounded by the magic barrier. “What do you think?”

“So, that wasn’t you? You’re saying it was this ‘outside faction’ that did it?” Gray said.

“Probably. I mean, I didn’t see them do it, but we sure as hell didn’t do it.” Racer said. The others looked at the giant machine, as well as whatever was built around it. “They must have built that pretty fast if they did it under your nose like that. I mean, I can’t imagine the Oracion Seis would just allow some outsiders to come in and put up something like that. Especially if it messes up your plans.” Gray said. Racer nodded without saying anything.

“Hey, I have a question.” Lucy said at the bottom of the steps. “What happened to the other members of Oracion Seis? You said they injured you? Why?” Lucy said to Racer. Racer sat there, not looking at anyone. Then he spoke; “Yeah, I did say that. I don’t know if I should tell you. But I guess if I do, you could go kick their asses for me.” Racer looked at team Fairy Tail, up and down. “Then again, they’d probably destroy you. But I guess that’d be good too. Maybe you’ll wipe each other out.” Racer said.

“Are you gonna tell us or not?” Gray said impatiently. Racer appeared to consider. “Yeah, sure. I’ve got nothing better to do. Alright, I’ll tell you what happened. At least as far as I know.” The group gathered closer to hear the story.

***  
“You want me to what?” Makarov said incredulously.

“You heard me. I want your guild. I should be the master. And I will banish you, just as you did me.” Ivan said.

Makarov shook his head. “You must be out of your mind. Do you honestly expect me to do that? Give Fairy Tail to you? And do you expect anyone in that guild to follow you?” Ivan grimaced, and his eye twitched. “They’ll follow me because I’m the guildmaster! They’ll have to obey! And if they don’t, they’ll be cast out.” Ivan ranted. Makarov was still angry about what was happening, but despite himself he couldn’t help but feel some concern too. He knew that Ivan was behaving strangely. Makarov noticed that at least a few of the other Raven Tail members looked concerned too. But he also knew that Levy was still in danger.

“Why don’t we settle this, man to man? Just you and me.” Makarov said. Ivan shook his head. “You don’t tell me what to do.” He said. He then raised his hand, and prepared a spell. He was calling on his shikigami magic. Makarov prepared a defense. A blast of energy shot through the air. It hit the ground near Flare, knocking her off her feet. Her grip on Levy loosened. The blast hadn’t come from Makarov or Ivan, or anyone inside the guild for that matter. Everyone looked around in confusion. In the middle of this confusion, Levy scrambled to her feet and ran towards the entrance. Two of the Raven Tail mages ran after her. Elfman rushed out and charged them. Levy ran past him, back into the guild. At that point, a brawl broke out. Mages were throwing spells. Ivan summoned his magic power, but Makarov used his light magic to push back Ivan. By now, the Fairy Tail mages were rushing out to deal with Raven Tail, now that they no longer had a hostage.

Inside the guild, Mirajane was watching this unfold. She turned to Seraiisa beside her. Seraiisa had a sour expression on her face. “This should be over shortly. They’re no match for Fairy Tail.” Mirajane assured her. “Yeah.” was all Seraiisa said. The two of them saw Raven Tail trying to mount an offense, but were being quickly overwhelmed by Fairy Tail. The fight would be over soon.

Something suddenly crashed through one of the windows of the guild. It was a large creature, laying on the floor, surround by broken glass. It slowly got to its feet. It was a big green bird. Levy, now inside the guild, recognized it. “It’s a clipper. And… it looks like one of those modified ones that Gray and Lucy saw before. What is it doing here?” The creature turned towards Levy, and screeched. Levy backed off, and framed a spell. It stepped towards her, and she used solid script magic to hit it with a blast of ice. It stepped back, but appeared mostly unharmed. It became more aggressive and used its wings to hover a few feet off the ground. It was suddenly hit with a blast of small explosions, knocking it back to the ground.

“We can take this thing together.” Cana said. She had been hanging back until the monster bird came in, and then she began preparing her cards. However, two more of the birds crashed through Fairy Tail’s windows. These got up quicker then the first one. Other mages joined in the fray. Macao, Alzack, Bisca, Nab, and a few others were all dealing with the intruders. One of the clippers leapt towards Macao. He jumped out of the way as it smashed through a table. He countered the attack by shooting blue flames at it, injuring it. Cana threw a card at it that burst into flames, further burning it. It screeched and staggered towards them. But Levy used her magic to turn her words into a heavy boulder, crushing it underneath. The sound of bones being broken could be heard. It seemed unlikely to get up, although it was twitching.

Outside, Raven Tail was being beaten. Elfman had just punched the small pink skinned man, knocking him unconscious. Ivan was laying on the ground, with Makarov standing over him. Laki was also nearby, along with a few other Fairy Tail members. The three remaining Raven Tail members were trying to back off and regroup, but were surrounded. The masked man tilted his head, and Flare readied her long hair, igniting it. She looked much less confident now though. “You should have surrendered when you had the chance.” Makarov said. “Too late now.” Elfman added. He turned into his beast form to prepare to finish them. The fight was about to end. Except it didn’t end.

Slowly approaching the Fairy tail guild from the front was a group of people. And some animals too. They were walking slowly, but clearly straight for the guild with a purpose. As they got closer, it became apparent that something was wrong with them. Pale, bleached skin, off-colored eyes, and in some cases deformities, like arms covered in large veins or scales. Everyone had stopped the fight to watch this. Makarov turned to Raven Tail and said, “What is this? Is this part of your plan too?” But Flare and the dark haired man looked just as surprised and unnerved by this as Fairy Tail. Flare shook her head. The masked man was harder to read, and didn’t make any obvious movements.

Laki pointed towards the approaching group. “Is that a rollidillo? Its like what Gray and Lucy described. All freakish looking.”

“Yeah, and I see a few dogs with them too.” Elfman observed. He was still in his beast form. They watched the group approach, preparing for another fight. But the approaching threat suddenly stopped moving. They stood there, as if waiting for something. Then some of them parted to make way for something. Several figures stepped through. In front was what appeared to be a man in unusually ornate samurai armor. The armor was colored black and gold. The hard rain pelted off of his armor, while streetlights beamed down on him, giving him a ghostly looking visage. He was flanked by several other men, also in samurai armor. Their armor was less impressive looking though, and black and grey colored.

The samurai in black and gold armor stepped forward, stopping several yards from the entrance of the guild. He crossed his arms in a commanding gesture. He spoke in a deep, harsh sounding voice. “Go ahead. Finish Raven Tail. They have served their purpose.” He said. This statement was greeted with confusion from Fairy Tail. Makarov spoke up. “Who are you? What are you doing here? And what have you done to these people?” This last question referred to the freakish looking people that had preceded the samurai. They were still standing there with mostly vacant stares. The samurai turned to look at Makarov. He was wearing a helmet with mask, so his face couldn’t be seen.

“You may call me Lord Yoshimoto. These… people, are under our control, and do our bidding. And why I am here? The unconditional surrender of your guild. Fairy Tail.” He spoke the guild’s name derisively. Makarov narrowed his eyes.

“Did you send Raven Tail here? Do they work for you?” Makarov asked.

Yoshimoto shook his head. “They do not ‘work’ for us. Although, we are responsible for them being here.” With his statement, he turned his head towards the masked man with Raven Tail. As if on cue, the masked man walked away from Raven Tail, and moved towards Yoshimoto’s group. He stopped a few feet from the samurai, and bowed to him. The significance of this became apparent.

“You’re working for them?!” Flare said. Her dark-haired companion shook his head. “What the hell is going on here?” he said. “That’s actually a pretty good question.” Elfman said.

“Truthfully, I was hoping they would keep you occupied longer.” The samurai lord continued. “But it appears they were more incompetent than I thought. No matter. Our forces are now gathered. Now… Surrender, or die. Choose quickly.” He concluded.

“We don’t even know who you are, and you expect us to surrender to you?” Makarov said.

“We are your betters. That is all you need to know.” The samurai said.

“Screw that.” Elfman said. He tensed, preparing for another fight. Suddenly, everyone else started tensing too. “Screw all of this, I’m out of here.” The dark-haired Raven Tail member said. He began running, heading for a small gap left by the enemy force.

“Kurohebi, wait!” Flare shouted. The man named Kurohebi ignored her and continued running. He reached the gap. He made it past some of the monster people, but was abruptly struck with something. It was a sword in his abdomen. One of the black and grey samurai had caught him, and impaled him. The sword came out covered in blood, quickly washed away in the rain. He fell to the ground, arms wrapped around his midsection. He quickly stopped moving.

Master Makarov watched this all play out. “He may have been our enemy, but he didn’t deserve to die. You crossed a line.” He said. “Fool.” Was Yoshimoto’s only response. The samurai around him drew their swords, and the Fairy Tail mages prepared various spells. “That’s enough!” a voice said. Everyone stopped. The voice had come from inside of the guild. Everyone turned. It was a man standing behind Mirajane and Seraiisa. Somehow, he had appeared in the guild without anyone noticing. As Mirajane turned and saw him, her initial reaction was that one of the enemy had snuck in, so she pulled Seraiisa behind her to protect her. But after just a second, she realized that she knew the person standing in front of her. It was Mystogan.

“You!” Mirajane said. Mystogan stood before her, unreadable with his face covered. “Its time you told the truth.” he said in a husky voice. Mirajane looked confused. “The truth? What do you mean?”

Mystogan appeared to look past her. “I wasn’t talking to you.” He pointed at Seraiisa. “I was talking to you.”

Seraiisa knitted her brows, but said nothing. Mystogan persisted. “I’ve been following this girl and her family for some time now.”

“You’ve been following her!?” Mirajane said, clearly unhappy. Mystogan held up a hand. “Let me finish. She’s not what you think. She’s with them.” He said, pointing to the gathered enemy force outside the guild. The enemy outside wasn’t sure what to make of Mystogan’s sudden appearance, and stayed their ground for the moment. Mirajane shook her head.

“That’s not true.” She said.

“It is. She’s been spying for them, giving them information. You had to have known something was off about her.” Mystogan said. Mirajane became quiet. She slowly turned to Seraiisa. Mirajane didn’t ask the question. She just looked at Seraiisa. Seraiisa slowly looked up at Mirajane. She had a strange expression on her face. She was smiling, but her eyes looked a little sad. “Sorry Mira. I didn’t want it to happen this way. I hope we can still be friends.” They stood for a moment, looking at each other. Then, Mirajane knelt down and put her hands on Seraiisa’s shoulders.

“You don’t have to do this. I know you’re just a kid. Whatever your family told you, whatever _they_ told you…” Mirajane looked at the hostile crowd as she said this. “… You have a choice. Fairy Tail is full of good people. We can talk about this. Your family isn’t here, but I am.” Seraiisa shook her head.

“Sorry, but _you_ have a choice to make.” Seraiisa said.

“Her family _is_ here. Right now.” Mystogan said. Mirajane looked up. Mystogan pointed towards someone outside. The man in the mask and hood. “Her brother.”

“Her brother?” Mirajane said.

Mystogan began talking louder. “Her father is here too. Back there, with them. You should come out. Your daughter is here!” His words were heard by everyone. Makarov, Levy, Elfman, and the other mages heard him, and looked towards the opposing group.

Someone was coming through the group. The freakish men and women parted for him. He stepped through and walked up to Lord Yoshimoto. He was wearing a grey robe with a hood. “Give me a chance to speak to them first. Maybe I can convince them.” The hooded man said. Yoshimoto stood there and regarded him. “You follow our orders. Remember your place.” He said. The hooded man persisted. “I remember my lord. I only ask for a few minutes to speak with them. Please.” Yoshimoto made a gesture indicating he was given permission.

“What is going on here?” said Cana, who had joined them outside the guild. She and the others had finished dealing with the monster clippers, albeit with extensive damage inside. “Maybe we’re about to find out.” Said Elfman. By now he had resumed his normal form, unable to stay transformed for a long time. The hooded man walked over to the gathered Fairy Tail mages. He stopped just a few feet from them. He removed his hood. It was indeed Seraiisa’s father.

“Its true.” Mirajane said. “Yes, it is.” Seraiisa responded. Seraiisa walked past Mirajane and walked outside to join her father. As she walked up to him, they embraced. “Sorry I’m late.” He said. Mirajane watched the two of them. The man who was apparently Seraiisa’s brother remained in the distance, observing. “Please explain what’s going on.” Mirajane said, sounding distant.

“Mirajane, maybe you should let me handle this.” Makarov said. Seraiisa shook her head. “No, I do owe you an explanation. I’m sorry Mirajane. I do like you. Really. But… your guild is sort of in our way.” She said. Mirajane furrowed her brow. “In your way? What are you talking about?” Seraiisa looked down at the ground a moment, as if to gather her thoughts. She then looked back up at Mirajane.

“Do you remember what we talked about in the cemetery earlier? About bringing people back? And how that would require sacrifice? You said you would never be okay with that. I hope you change your mind about that.” Seraiisa said. Mirajane had thought it was odd at the time that Seraiisa had brought that up. Then again, there were a number of odd things about Seraiisa and her father that were starting to make more sense now.

“Was this really all just an act? Were you lying the whole time?” Mirajane said, in a soft voice.

“Like I said, I do like you. I even came to like your guild. Mostly. I admit, it was my job to spy on you. That’s why I came up to you at the market. But just because it started like that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. And Mirajane, most of what I said was true. I just… left certain things out.” Seraiisa said.

“I don’t know what to think.” Mirajane said. At this point Makarov cut in. “Tell me; who are you people?”

Seraiisa’s father, Nikodias, smiled. “That is a long story. Too long to explain right now. Suffice to say, we are not originally from here. We come from another place and time.”

“Another time?” Cana said.

“Yes. We were part of a great alliance. Lord Yoshimoto being one of our leaders. We hoped to change the world. But the world resisted. They didn’t appreciate that great change requires great sacrifice.” Nikodias said.

“By sacrifice you mean…” Makarov said.

“Lives. Many human lives.” Nikodias said.

“Sounds like you were the bad guys.” Elfman said bluntly. Nikodias looked at him disapprovingly. “You don’t know the whole story.” He said. A sharp sound could be heard in the distance. It was Yoshimoto, striking the ground with his sword. He was becoming impatient. “And like I said, there is no time to tell it.” Nikodias said.

“Why attack Fairy Tail? Why now?” Makarov said.

“Fairy Tail is a threat. It has a reputation for getting involved in outside concerns. This is a preemptive strike. Although, I would have preferred to wait, and try a more diplomatic approach. But my superiors felt that this had to be dealt with tonight.” Nikodias said.

“Why tonight?” Cana said.

“A few reasons. For one, there is the rain. Its raining heavily, and many people will be inside. That will make this easier, and with less distractions. There is also the matter of the coalition.”

“The coalition?” Mirajane asked.

“Yes. We knew that you would be sending several powerful mages out to fight the Oracion Seis. That would leave you vulnerable. Along with the other guilds in the coalition.” Nikodias explained.

“Other guilds?” Mirajane said. _Does that mean that Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, and Cait Shelter have been attacked too?_ Mirajne thought. Nikodias didn’t respond to her last question. The sound of the other samurai readying their weapons could be heard. They were getting ready to attack.

“I’m sorry, but we’re out of time. You need to decide. Surrender, and many of you may be allowed to join us. Or resist, and watch your guild destroyed.” Nikodias said. Seraiisa quickly spoke up. “We’re doing good Mirajane. Really. We’re going to save lives. Conquer death. But before that, people will have to die. Nothing comes without sacrifice.”

Mirajane looked down, with a sad expression. “I could never agree to that.” She said simply.

“Yeah, me neither.” Elfman agreed.

“Fools.” Nikodias said. He turned to his daughter. “I’m sorry Seraiisa, but I warned you this might happen.” Seraiisa nodded. “I know.” She turned to Mirajane. “I do like you Mira, but you’re making the wrong choice.” Seraiisa said it softly, but with a hint of judgement. Mirajane looked down at the ground.

“Did I ever even know you?” She said. There was a silence for several seconds, aside from the rain. Then Nikodias spoke; “Time is up. You had your chance.”

“You won’t win. We will beat you. It is true we’re missing some powerful mages right now.” Makarov said. He began talking louder, so that the rest of the guild could here. “But all of us together will fight you. And we will win, because we will never let Fairy Tail die.” After he said this, the rest of the guild cheered, and several more members stepped outside to prepare for a fight. They were all ready.

“Nice speech. But completely wrong.” It wasn’t Seraiisa or her father who said this. Nor was it Yoshimoto. It was a feminine voice coming from behind Yoshimoto. The women stepped forwards, standing beside him. She was a young woman holding a white umbrella. She was wearing a white feathered dress. She also had white hair, and fair skin. She was small, but looked very confident. She spoke again. “Hello Fairy Tail. Allow me to introduce myself. You may call me Angel, formerly of the Oracion Seis.” The mention of the Oracion Seis got a surprised reaction out of Fairy Tail. Angel smiled viciously. She held up a celestial key in one hand. “This will be over soon.” She said.

***  
“Just so you know, I’m not much of a storyteller.” Racer said. He was now sitting against a wall, while his companion known as Midnight continued to sleep nearby. The group had gathered in the ruined building, and set down the light lacrima on the floor. The glow of the light surrounded by the dark and rain gave the setting a feeling of sitting around a campfire telling stories. Which wasn’t too far off. They were sitting in a loose circle by the light. Except for Gajeel, who was standing and keeping an eye out for anything.

“We’re not asking for poetry, just tell us what happened.” Gray said. Lucy, sitting close to him, moved a little closer and whispered to him, “Are you sure this is safe? What if that guy over there wakes up? What if this ‘Brain’ guy comes back? Can we handle that?” Gray side eyed her. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Besides, Gajeel’s watching things.”

“Oh, that makes feel better.” Lucy said sarcastically.

“Hey love birds, you want me to tell you what happened or not?” Racer said.

“Shut up and start talking.” Gray said. Racer snorted. “Yeah. Sure.” He put his hands behind his head, and looked up at the broken ceiling. “Alright. Let’s see. Where should I start? We knew that there some outsiders in this area for a little while now. But we left them alone at first. As long as they didn’t interfere with us. I hadn’t seen them myself, but Cobra and Hoteye did. They said these guys just seemed like some weirdos wandering around. They were told to get lost anyway though.” Racer looked back at the group around him. He paused.

“Anyway… I’m not going to drag this out. A few days ago, there was an incident. A big one.” He paused again, this time longer.

“Well, what happened?” Gray said. Racer looked into the distance. “I hate to air the guild’s dirty laundry like this. But hell, I’m not even sure there is still a guild anymore. Anyway…” He began again.

So, me and the rest of the guild were out investigating the area, preparing for Nirvana, and preparing for you guys showing up. We knew about that ahead of time. Brain and Midnight weren’t there though. They had other things they needed to do. So, me, Angel, Hoteye, and Cobra had all gone our own ways, scouting out the area, and checking in with some of the other guilds working for us. I spent about an hour walking around different points. It was about time to touch base with the others. So, I headed towards the rendezvous point. It was a clearing by a river. I didn’t see anyone there. I sat down on a boulder and rested a minute. I was bored so I started watching the fish in the river.

“Is there a point to this?” Gray interrupted.

“I’m getting to it.” Racer said.

I got distracted for a minute. But I suddenly noticed I wasn’t alone. I looked up and saw Angel. She’s one of the other Oracion Seis. I got up to ask her what she had seen, but then I realized she wasn’t alone. There were a few other people with her. In robes and hoods. At first, I thought maybe they were one of the dark guilds working for us, but I didn’t recognize them. They were wearing grey and brown robes with weird symbols on them. I asked Angel who they were. She had this weird look on her face. She said, “These are some new allies.”

“New allies?” I didn’t know what she was talking about.

“Yes. They can be a great help to us. And we can help them too.” Angel said.

“I don’t remember Brain saying anything about this.” I said.

“He doesn’t know yet.” Angel said. That surprised me.

“What do you mean? You know Brain’s the one who makes decisions like that. Who are these people anyway?” I was feeling confused and annoyed by that point. Angel smiled at me. “I think there’s someone else who can explain it better. Someone you have to meet.” She turned and looked at the trees at the edge of the clearing. There were more of these robe guys there. They started walking closer.

“Okay, I want to know what’s going on right now.” I said.

“Me too.” Someone behind me said that. I turned, and it was Cobra, another one of us. “What’s going on Angel?” he said.

“I was just telling Racer about these-“ Angel started to say, but Cobra cut her off.

“They’re outsiders. Brain isn’t going to like this.” He said.

“You think he’ll be angry?” Angel said.

“I know it. And you should too. What’s the matter with you?” Cobra again.

At this point, the second group had gotten close. Oh, and Hoteye was there too. I just noticed him. “Hoteye, don’t tell me…” I started to say.

“These are wonderful people. Just wonderful. You have to get to know them.” He said. I just groaned. Cobra looked at Angel, and then back at Hoteye.

“I see. This must be some kind of mind control. That’s the only thing that makes sense. We’ll have to deal with this.” Cobra said. He looked like he was getting ready for a fight. He also had his big snake Cubellios with him. The snake started hissing like it was ready to fight too.

“It is not mind control.” Someone said. It was one of the hooded guys. Or, hooded woman I should say, going by the voice. She was with the group with Hoteye. She took her hood off. Definitely a woman. And a really pretty one too. I couldn’t tell what she looked like under the robe, but from the neck up she was gorgeous. Like a model. She had long, blond, curly hair. She was tall too. Had to be around six feet.

“Who the hell are you?” Cobra said. The blond woman smiled at him, showing her teeth. It was pretty, but somehow kind of scary looking too. Her lips were blood red, and so were her nails. Her eyes were blue. But the whites in her eyes were all reddish, like they were really bloodshot or something. Kind of creepy.

“My name is Boudica. And what should I call you?” she asked.

“Cobra. Now you better explain what you’re doing here real fast, and you better make it good, or that’s the last name you’re ever going to hear.” Cobra said.

“Erik don’t talk to her like that. Listen to what she has to say.” Angel said this. “Don’t use our real names you fool.” Cobra said. Boudica spoke up. “We are on a mission. A mission to save the world.” Cobra made a sound, like he didn’t think much of that.

“Sounds like your mission and our mission are at odds with each other. That won’t do.” He said.

“And what is your mission?” Boudica said.

“Destruction, chaos. Turning light to darkness. That’s all you need to know.” Cobra said. Boudica smiled, this time no teeth. “Our goals might not be as different as you think, Cobra. Sometimes death and destruction can lead to a great rebirth. On our journey, much blood will be shed. But in the end, many will be saved. We will create a world where each person can become something greater than what they are now. A world where you never have to lose the people most important to you. And whatever you have lost can be restored. A world of miracles.” Boudica finished talking.

For a minute Cobra said nothing. He just stood there. His expression was hard to read. It seemed like he was thinking about something. But then he smiled. “I get it. You’re a cult. You’re some crazy religious group, and you’re looking for disciples. Hate to disappoint you lady, but I ain’t interested.” Boudica didn’t seem bothered by this. Just amused.

“You think it can’t be done? You want proof? I’ll show you.” she said.

At this point, Racer stopped telling the story. He sat there, and picked up a canteen and started drinking. He sat back. “What happened then?” Gray said. Racer looked at him, slightly annoyed. “Hey, I’ve been talking for a while, give me a few minutes. I’m thirsty.” He took another drink of water. “Man, it was just starting to get interesting.” Lucy said. Meanwhile, Wendy and Carla were sitting together. Carla had pulled out something to eat, and was trying to get Wendy to eat something too. “You need to keep up your strength.” Carla said.

“I’m not really hungry though. Maybe later.” Wendy said. Wendy looked around, feeling uncomfortable in this dark place. _At least my new friends are here with me_ , she thought. She noticed something in the corner of the room. It appeared to be some kind of stick with a skull on top. And the skull had what looked like a wig, or feathers attached. Wendy thought it was a little creepy. She turned to Carla.

“Hey Carla, what do you think of that?” Wendy said, pointing in the direction of the stick. Carla looked. “Think of what? She said. “That skull on a stick.” Wendy turned towards the corner, and saw no skull-stick there. “Wait, what? I could’ve sworn…”

“You’re seeing things child. Its the shadows and rain playing tricks.” Carla said. Wendy looked concerned, but said nothing.

“Alright, so where was I? Oh yeah.” Racer began.

So, me and Cobra were standing there, waiting to see what this chick did. Of course, I was preparing to attack in case she tried something, and I’m pretty sure cobra was too. She opened her robe. She was wearing a dress underneath. But she pulled a knife out of a pocket in the robe. She cut her arm, and her chest. There were lines of blood. But then she put her hands together. Her eyes started glowing gold. The wounds healed up quickly.

I looked at Cobra. He smirked. “Impressive healing magic. I didn’t think anyone could still do that. But that doesn’t mean you’re special.” I guess he wasn’t impressed. She folded her arms. She turned to one of the guys with her, and said something to him I couldn’t hear. He raised a hand towards something nearby in the grass. The thing in the grass shot over to his hand. It was a rabbit. He handed it to her. She took it in one hand, and held the knife in the other. I won’t go into detail, but she used it to cut the rabbit’s head off. It was a sharp knife, and it was quick.

“Gross. Didn’t need to hear that.” Lucy said. Racer ignored her and continued with his story.

So, we watched this happen. Cobra said, “Was that supposed to impress me?” The woman, Boudica, put the carcass on the ground. She got on her knees. She put the head next to the body. She put her hands over them both. A golden glow came out of her hands. There was this white light around the corpse. And then, the head reattached to the body. It healed with only a small scar to show what had happened. The thing blinked, and got up. Started moving around. It was alive again. It sounds crazy, but there it was. It seemed weird though. Confused, and lost. I don’t know. Something off about it. Boudica picked it up and held it in her arms. She stood up.

“What do you think, Cobra? Are you now impressed?” she said. I looked over at Cobra. ‘Impressed’ isn’t the word I would use to describe how he looked. He looked a little freaked. I mean, I could relate, but I wasn’t used to seeing Cobra like that. “This is some black magic shit.” He said. Boudica smiled. Pretty, but still a little scary. “No, not black magic. The opposite. Divine magic. Beautiful. Miraculous.” Angel spoke up. “Exactly. She can perform miracles. Like… an angel.” As if to emphasize what Angel said, Boudica spread her arms, and golden ‘wings’ came out of her back. Not feathers or anything, just light or energy or something. But I could see why Angel was so impressed with her. She looked like she might cry. Not sure about Hoteye though. Boudica petted the rabbit, and then let it go. It started to run off, but then turned around and came back, looking up at her. I stepped over to Cobra.

“Hey, what do you think of all this?” I whispered to him. He looked at me. “I don’t know. I can’t hear what she’s thinking.” He said.

“You can’t?” I said.

“No. I don’t know why. I can hear the other guys though. They’re mostly just thinking how great she is, and how much better they’re going to make things.”

“I don’t like this at all. We should go tell Brain.” I said.

“Yeah.” Cobra agreed. Boudica was staring at us. They all were. “What do you two want? What is your greatest wish? Tell me. Maybe then you’ll believe.” She said. I didn’t want to tell her anything. I wanted to get the others. But Cobra spoke up. “You can’t grant my wish. None of you can.”

“But what if I could?” she said.

Cobra shrugged. “Then I’d believe you. If you could do that, maybe you could do all those amazing things you say.” Boudica looked at him with her red and blue eyes. “Tell me.” She said in a husky voice. Cobra seemed to think it over for a minute. He tilted his head a little. “Alright, fine. I’ll tell you. If you manage to give me what I want, then I’ll believe you. You’re some kind of miracle woman, maybe even divine. But if you can’t, then me, Racer, and Cubellios will make you pay for interfering in our business. Got it?” The woman nodded. I didn’t know what to make of all this. Everything was happening so fast.

Cobra looked down at his snake. Its like his best friend. I’m not gonna pretend I fully understand it, but… Anyway, Cobra told her what he wanted. “I want to hear the voice of my friend, Cubellios. I can hear the thoughts of so many people around me. But not hers. I want to hear her. If you can do that, then I guess you really are something special.” Boudica put her finger to her chin, looking like she was thinking about it. Then she said, “I believe that I can help you. But in this case, I might need a little help myself.” She looked back towards the group behind her, apparently signaling another one of her flunkies to help her with something. Cobra made a noise, like he was unimpressed.

“You’re supposed to have divine power, but you need help from these peons?” he said. Just as he said that, someone stepped out from the group. It was another person in a robe and hood, except smaller than I was expecting. And by smaller, I mean it was a kid. About the same age as that blue haired girl you got with you, in fact. The kid took off the hood. It was a little girl, with long black hair, and weird eyes. No color. Just grey. She had this white robe with strange symbols on it too.

“There’s nothing wrong with a little teamwork. Right?” The little girl said this, while looking at Boudica. Boudica smiled at her and said, “right.”

“And I don’t know what a ‘peon’ is, but it sounds like an insult. I hope I can prove you wrong, Erik.” The girl said with a smile. Cobra bristled at the girl calling him by his real name.

“What is this?” Cobra said.

“This is Seraiisa. She’s an important part of our cause. She’s going to help you.” Boudica said.

“I thought _we_ were going to help him.” The little girl said.

“We are, but you’re going to do the important part.”

Suddenly, Gray interrupted Racer’s narrative. “Hold on. You said this girl’s name is Seraiisa? And she wears a white robe with symbols on it?”

Racer looked confused. “Uh, yeah. What of it?”

“Shit. Its got to be the same girl.” Gray said.

“What girl? What are you talking about, Gray?” Juvia said. Gray looked over at her. “Mirajane and Elfman met this kid named Seraiisa. Mirajane apparently got pretty friendly with her. Claimed she and her family were interested in Fairy Tail. Guess now we know why.”

“Hold on, we don’t know the whole story. We don’t know if these people are bad. We’ve only got this guy’s word to go on.” Lucy said, pointing her thumb at Racer.

“Hey, ‘this guy’ can hear you.” Racer said. Lucy didn’t seem to care.

“Either way, we’re going to need to check in with the guild as soon as possible. Just in case.” Gray said.

“Agreed. But in the meantime, maybe we should let Mr. Racer finish telling his story.” Juvia said.

“Yeah, thanks.” Racer said sarcastically, and took another drink from his canteen. “Alright, let’s wrap this up.” He said, and continued again with the story.

So, the little girl walked up to Cobra. She said, “To do this, I’m going to need to touch your head, and the snake too.” Cobra looked over at me, and gave me a weird look. But then he shrugged, and called Cubellios over, getting it to cooperate. “This better not be a trick.” He said.

“No tricks. Promise.” The kid said. She did look a little uncomfortable with the snake near her. But then the blond woman walked up behind Seraiisa and knelt down. She put her hands on the kid’s shoulders, and closed her eyes. She started glowing gold again, but now the glow was… moving into the kid, or something. She started glowing too. Especially the eyes. Gold. I guess it did look kinda angelic, but for some reason I was still a little creeped out by it. Boudica stood up and stepped back. Seraiisa looked up at Cobra and smiled. She didn’t look uncomfortable anymore.

“Kneel down.” She said. It was strange. Her voice had a slight reverb to it or something. Cobra hesitated a bit, but knelt down. He got the snake to lower its head too. Seraiisa put her hands on both their heads. The glow got brighter. I squinted. The girl looked like she was concentrating on something. This lasted about a minute, then the glow faded. The girl took her hands off them. She stepped back and said, “Done.” She looked at Cobra, waiting for a reply. Cobra got up slowly, and looked down at the girl.

“You know what kid? I don’t buy into this divine, religious crap. I don’t think you’re going to save the world or anything. But I don’t care. I… hear her voice. Its faint, but its there. My prayer… you answered it, somehow. I owe you.” Cobra said all this, and Angel and Hoteye both looked happy. I wasn’t.

“What is wrong with you people? Come on Cobra, you don’t believe this right? They’re tricking you. I don’t know what you think you’re hearing, but-“ Cobra cut me off.

“No. I know what I hear. Its her voice. I can feel it. This is what I wanted.” He said. I don’t know if they had actually somehow gotten him to hear that snake, or if they were just making him hear things that weren’t there. But he definitely believed it.

“This is wonderful! See, we can still be a team!” Hoteye said. “Now we can find Midnight and Brain, and no one will stop us.” Angel said. Cobra shook his head. “Its like I said, Brain will never go for this. He’s going to pissed. Maybe even vengeful.” Angel looked concerned. “I don’t want to be enemies with Brain, but…” she trailed off, and looked at Boudica. Boudica smiled. For some reason, this made Angel smile too.

“Yeah well, looks like we made our bed. We’ll deal with whatever happens as it comes. Although, there’s still Racer…” Cobra said, looking at me. I hadn’t agreed to anything. Boudica spoke to me. “What do you want, Racer? Tell me. What is your prayer?” she said. I answered her.

“No! I’m not telling you anything. You’re all crazy.” I pointed at both the cult people and my ‘comrades’ who were switching sides. “We’re supposed to be loyal to Brain. He brought us this far. You can’t just walk away like this. I’ll tell him. He’ll punish you.” They all exchanged glances with each other. Boudica looked directly at me. “Well, we can’t have that, can we?” she said. She wasn’t smiling. She looked deadly serious. “Right. We have to deal with this.” Angel said.

At that point, I suddenly realized that I was alone in front of a bunch of powerful mages. I had no backup. So, I quickly decided to change tactics. I decided to try gaining their trust, and then when they let their guard down, I’ll use my magic to escape. They won’t be able to catch me. And then I’ll get Brain and Midnight. We’ll deal with this. As I was thinking this, I was suddenly blindsided by something, and knocked to the ground. It was Cobra. He had hit me when I wasn’t looking. He put his foot on my chest and pinned me down.

“I can hear what you’re thinking, remember?” he said. Right. How could I forget. “Are we going to kill him?” Angel said.

“We’re not killing him. I know we can’t just let him leave, but… We’ve been on the same side for a long time. Us against the world. I won’t kill him like this, and if you do then we’re enemies.” Cobra said.

“We’re already enemies.” I said.

“You should shut up.” Cobra said back. Boudica seemed to be thinking things over. Then she said, “I see. Okay. I’ll compromise. We don’t need to kill him. But we can’t just let him walk away, and report to Brain. He at least needs to be incapacitated. Make it harder for him, and buy us time. One of you can do that.” After she said this, Hoteye stepped forward. “I’ll do it. He said. He used his earth magic to pull up part of the ground. Then he turned it into a huge rock, and dropped it on my leg. I’ll admit, it hurt like hell. I heard something snap.

“You brought this on yourself.” Angel said. I wanted to call her a bitch, but I was in too much pain. I was having trouble focusing on what they were saying.

“Now we can focus on finding Nirvana.” Boudica said.

“You told them about that?” Cobra said.

“I did, yes.” Angel said.

“I think we can find it before Brain does, if we all work together.” Boudica said.

“Teamwork is important.” Seraiisa said.

“That’s right.” Boudica said. At that point I blacked out.

Racer finished his narrative at last. “I woke up a while later, and they were gone, I managed to get the rock off of me. I had a hell of a time getting back to Brain. He was royally pissed off when I told him everything.” Racer said. Racer stopped and finished his canteen. He felt tired from talking so much. The group sat there for a minute, absorbing everything they had just heard. Gajeel walked over to the group. He had been silent during Racer’s story. “Well, that’s a hell of a story. Assuming its all true.” He said.

“Think what you want.” Racer said.

“This is not good. The Oracion Seis was bad enough. But now we have this other group to deal with too.” Gray said.

“Think we’re going to have to fight them?” Lucy asked.

“Probably. Sounds like it.”

“I’m familiar with a lot of dark guilds, but I’ve never heard of this one before.” Juvia added.

“Are they a dark guild? Or a magic guild at all? What do they even call themselves?” Gray asked. He wasn’t asking anyone in particular, but Racer responded. “Beats me. I didn’t ask. I was a little too busy being betrayed.”

Happy, who had also been quiet, had another question. “So, I’m confused. Who were the good guys in that story?”

“It doesn’t sound like there were any good guys. Just a bunch of evil bastards running into each other.” Gray said. “Says you.” Racer said. At this point, Lucy got up and stretched. “So, what now? I guess we need a new plan.” She said.

“I’ve got a simple plan. Find Brain. That’s the most important thing right now, right?” Gajeel said. Gray was about to respond, but someone else beat him to it. “You won’t have to look far.” Someone said. The group turned and looked toward the source of the voice, coming from the other end of the room. There was a hole in the wall, with vegetation coming through. And standing in that hole was a man. He stepped closer. He had brown skin, and white hair. He wore a long coat. He also carried a staff with a skull attached to it.

“Brain!” Racer said. “Brain?” Gray said. With that, the whole group stood up and quickly readied themselves. The man known as Brain smiled at their reaction. He addressed them. “Its so nice that you’ve all made yourselves at home. But I’m afraid story time is over. Its time for you all to be put to sleep.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boudica is pronounced BOW-dik-uh, by the way.


	13. Life and Death

Somewhere far away, under a silent night sky, there was a garden. It was lush and green, with strange and beautiful plants. It was surrounded by terraced walls, with exotic and colorful vines snaking about. The garden was large and spacious, with room for dozens of men and women to gather. But on this night, there were only three souls in this garden. Two of them were cloaked figures standing at the entrance of the garden. The third was a girl in the center of it all. She was sitting on a decorative stone table. It was hard and cold, but she didn’t mind. The girl was a teenager, wearing a long, pretty dress.

It was late at night. Crickets were making dim sounds in the distance, while a cool breeze blew through wind chimes hanging nearby. The girl thought it was peaceful. She liked being here. Except… she turned her head and looked behind her, at the entrance. Or, more specifically, she looked at the two cloaked figures at the entrance. Although she couldn’t see their faces, she knew they were watching her. That was why they were here. She turned away from them, and looked back at the scenery around her, deciding to ignore them. She swung her legs a little while sitting on the table, like a child might. She noticed a small animal nearby. A racoon. She smiled. It looked at her from a distance. She watched as it slowly approached her out of curiosity. She picked up a small bag on the table, and pulled out a handful of berries. She held it in her hand and reached out to feed the animal. It came closer to her, came up to her hand. And then it recoiled, and ran away. She sighed, and put the berries back.

She lifted her hand to her face, and looked at it. She knew why the animal ran. It saw her, and knew that something was wrong. Unnatural. Her hand and entire lower arm were not human, but twisted and monstrous. Her hand looked almost more like a claw. The skin was hard and discolored. The upper arm was still human though. Her other arm was more or less the same, but with one difference; one of her arms had a Fairy Tail guild mark tattooed on the upper arm.

As she sat there contemplating this, she heard footsteps behind her. She didn’t turn, but just waited. She heard a voice. “I just came by to see how you’re doing.” It said. The girl didn’t respond. For a moment, there was just the sound of the wind. The voice spoke again. “You don’t feel like talking right now. That’s okay. Maybe later.” Footsteps could be heard walking back the way they came. The girl suddenly turned.

“Wait. Boudica.” She said. Boudica stopped, and turned around to look at the girl. She stood there with eyes looking curiously at the girl, and a slight smile. “What is it?” Boudica said. The girl hesitated, looking at the older woman for a moment. Then the girl said, “I want to see him. Please.” Boudica considered this.

“He’s not here right now. He’ll be back soon. Then you can see him. I promise.” Boudica said. The girl looked at her for a second, and then nodded. She then turned back around and looked up at the sky. The girl was vaguely aware of the footsteps receding behind her, while looking at a half moon above.

***  
Brain, the leader of the Oracion Seis, stood before the gathered Fairy Tail team. They all quicky poised to fight. His entrance had caught them off guard, but he chose not to take advantage of their surprise. Instead, he stood there looking amused at their display. He looked at the various members, including Wendy and the cats, and shook his head. “Pathetic.” He said. He then turned to the sleeping man nearby. “Midnight, wake up.” Brain said. On cue, the man known as Midnight opened his eyes, and stretched. He slowly got to his feet, and looked around the room. He turned to Brain. “What’s going on, father?” Midnight asked.

“We have unwelcome guests. They need to be killed.” Brain said. Midnight looked at the Fairy Tail team, and smiled. “Sounds like fun.” He said. Gray turned to Racer, still sitting against the wall.

“Hey, I thought we had sort of a truce here.” Gray said.

“I never said anything like that. I agreed to tell you what happened. That’s what I did. Whatever happens next is out of my hands.” Racer said. Brain turned his attention to Racer. “Ah yes, Racer. You’ve been keeping them entertained.”

“Only until you got back and dealt with them.” Racer said.

“I see. So you decided to give them important information about the Oracion Seis and our activities. In other words, help our enemy.” Brain said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. Racer suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Well, I mean… That wasn’t what I-“ Brain held up a hand to silence him.

“Enough. How are you going to atone for this? Will you annihilate our enemies?” Brain said. Racer looked down at his leg. “My leg is broken. I can’t even walk. What do you expect me to do?” Racer said.

“So, you decide to help our enemies, and you’re unable to help me. Then there’s nothing more to be said.” Brain said. He raised his staff, and aimed it at Racer. Before Racer could say anything, a blast of powerful energy was fired directly at his head. There was now a hole in the wall where the magical blast hit. Racer’s body fell backwards, his upper torso outside the hole. He was dead. Wendy made a high-pitched sound in alarm. Gray looked at Racer’s corpse.

“You killed him. He was one of you, and you just killed him.” Gray said. Brain grinned. “Yes I did, and you’re all next.” Just then, one of the black lines on Brain’s face disappeared. Brain held a hand up to his face. “Unfortunate, but he left me little choice.” Brain said. Midnight, who had been watching this, turned back to Brain. “Father… he was one of us.” Brain shook his head. “He betrayed us, my son. It had to be done.” Midnight still looked troubled. “But…” he said, but didn’t finish the thought. “We’ll have to look for a new member at some point. And we’ll also need to track down Cobra and the others. I may need to kill one of them too, to set an example. But the others could still be useful.” Brain said. Midnight looked conflicted, but said nothing.

Gajeel stepped forward. “Enough of this. Let’s take this asshole down.” He said. Brain spoke again. “I could take you all on by myself. With Midnight here, this will be over quickly.” Brain readied himself, and so did everyone else. There was nothing left to say. This was about to be settled one way or another.

Brain and Midnight spread out, with Midnight staying closer to the stairs. Gray and Lucy moved towards Brain, while Gajeel and Juvia moved for Midnight. Wendy stayed back to provide support. This tactic made Brain laugh. “You really think the two of you can defeat me? You don’t know who you’re dealing with.” Lucy took the opportunity to summon a spirit. It was Leo. She even summoned a second spirit, Taurus. Brain watched this, and did nothing to prevent it. He felt unthreatened. He raised a hand and made a “come get me” gesture. Taurus charged at him with an ax. As he brought the ax down, Brain blocked it with his staff. He pushed Taurus’ weapon away and then grabbed and threw the large bull man against the wall effortlessly. Leo quickly followed up with a flurry of punches and kicks. Leo was fast, but Brain was just as fast, dodging all of the attacks. Brain punched Leo hard in the midsection, and then elbowed him to the ground. At this point Gray threw sharp ice projectiles at Brain, Brain dodged most of them. The one that connected hardly hurt him.

Gray prepared another attack, but Brain had used this opportunity to charge another dark magic blast, and fired it at Gray. Gray barely dodged it, leaping to the side. Lucy started to shout something to her spirits, but Brain rushed over to her and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her into the air. He smiled, as her face turned to panic. He tightened his grip.

“Let her go!” Gray said, as he fired a large blast of ice at Brain, causing him to stumble. Brain looked irritated, and forcefully threw Lucy at Gray, knocking them both to the ground.

Meanwhile, Gajeel and Juvia were dealing with Midnight. Juvia fired water shots at him, while Gajeel turned his arms to iron to attack. Midnight was able to dodge and deflect all of it. He just held up his hands casually and said, “My reflector magic is impenetrable. You’re both too weak.” In response, Juvia fired a huge blast of water at Midnight, which he reflected back at Gajeel, knocking him to the ground.

Team Fairy Tail was losing this battle. They attempted to regroup. Wendy cast a spell, using her support magic to boost her allies. This helped them to get back to their feet. But footsteps could be heard below. Gajeel looked down the stairs, and saw what appeared to be dark guild members. Brain noticed Gajeel, and said, “I brought a few friends. Not that we’ll need them.” There were only about half a dozen of them, but team Fairy Tail was now outnumbered and overpowered.

“What do we do?” Lucy asked Gray.

“We keep fighting. What else can we do?” Gray said.

“You can try, but this will be over in a minute.” Brain said. Brain held his staff, and began powering up another attack. By this point Taurus was gone, but Leo charged over to attack. Brain used a dark rondo spell on him, and he fell. Lucy appeared unsure what to do. Gray began charging his ice. While this was happening, Midnight was using his reflector magic to assault Gajeel and Juvia. They were on the defensive, and couldn’t find an opening to attack. Midnight, having control over the situation, took the time to gloat. “Even if you attacked me, it wouldn’t matter. My magic can deflect any non-living thing. And you can’t get close enough to punch me.” While he was saying this the dark guild allies began climbing the stairs. Fairy Tail was surrounded.

A huge crushing sound came from below. Gajeel and Juvia braced for an attack from below. But when they looked, they saw the dark guild members knocked over. They had been attacked with a rock wall. A man stepped out from behind the wall. It was Jura Neekis. Coming up behind him were the other members of Lamia Scale, as well as Blue Pegasus. “What took you so long?” Gajeel said. “It took us a while, but it looks like we got here in time.” Jura said. The dark guild tried to regroup, but Jura attacked them with another rock attack, breaking a few of their bones in the process. The “tri-men” of Blue Pegasus used combined attacks against Midnight. He was able to deflect them, but less easily than before.

“This changes nothing.” Brain said. He launched another dark rondo attack, this time at the tri-men. Eve and Ren were knocked down, and Hibiki managed to dodge most of the attack with only minor injuries. While this was happening, Lyon had run up the steps to join Gajeel and Juvia. “Juvia, are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine. Thank you.” She answered. Gray, Wendy, and Lucy had come over to join them while Brain and Midnight were distracted with the other guilds. “What do we do now?” Wendy asked.

“We need to try something different.” Gray said.

“Agreed. Juvia and I can handle the guy wearing makeup. The rest of you fight the other one.” Lyon said. Gray rolled his eyes. “Not the time for this Lyon.”

“Actually, I have an idea.” Juvia interjected. The others looked at her. She looked uncertain. “What is it, Juvia?” Gray said.

“Well, I’m not sure if this will work, but… Midnight said that non-living things can’t penetrate his magic. So maybe we can use something living to get through.”

“You want us to just charge at him?” Gray said.

“Well, no. That probably wouldn’t work. He moves pretty fast, and can still use his reflector magic to attack. But I can turn into water. Maybe that will work.” Juvia explained. Gray looked skeptical. “I’m pretty sure water isn’t alive.”

“No, but I am. If I turn to water, then its still me. I’m still conscious. So, maybe I could get through his magic?” Juvia said. Gray still looked unsure. “Maybe. But even if that does work, do you think your water magic will be enough to take him down? He’s pretty powerful.”

Juvia looked at her feet. “It might not be enough. That’s why I’ll need you and Lyon to help me.” Neither Gray nor Lyon looked pleased about that. “Me and him?” they both said. Juvia explained what she had in mind.

While this was happening, Ichiya and Jura had come up to face off with Brain, while Hibiki and Sherry tried their best against Midnight. Ichiya had used a potion to make himself bigger and stronger. Jura, already being big and strong, just used his powerful magic against Brain. Ichiya tried to overpower Brain, but to little avail. Brain was quite powerful, and tossed him to the ground, quickly following it up with a with a gravity spell putting him through the floor and knocking Ichiya unconscious. Jura took advantage of brain’s distraction by sending a boulder after him, only for Brain to narrowly destroy it with a staff blast. Brain and Jura both powered up, preparing to assault each other. But before that could happen, Gajeel, Lucy, and Wendy had rushed over to join the fight. Brain was surrounded. Even so, he still looked confident.

While this was going on, Juvia, Lyon, and Gray had stayed where they were to deal with Midnight. Midnight had been battling Hibiki and Sherry. It was briefly a standoff, but then Midnight turned the tables when he launched a series of vicious magic slashes at Sherry, drawing blood. He then followed up by creating a vortex that trapped and pummeled her. She screamed in pain. Gray and Lyon interrupted this with combined ice attacks, forcing Midnight to refocus on them. But the damage had been done. Sherry was out of the fight.

Midnight turned to look at his two opponents. “I’m getting annoyed now.” He said, and fired powerful magical attacks at them using reflector magic. Gray and Lyon tried to deal with this by alternating between attacking and defending, but Midnight suddenly disappeared. This left the two men looking confused, until he reappeared behind Lyon and punched him, knocking him down. Gray fired ice spikes at him, but Midnight dodged as usual. Lyon slowly got up and tried to press the attack with ice shards of his own. Hibiki was throwing attacks as well, but he was growing tired. They were trying to overwhelm him. But Midnight looked like he was preparing another big attack.

“Shit.” Gray said. He knew that one way or another, this was about to end. Midnight raised his hands. But something blocked his vision. It was a body of water surrounding him. It pooled around him. His concentration was broken. He had been so busy with Lyon and Gray he hadn’t noticed Juvia make her move. “You think this will stop me?” he said with annoyance.

“No.” Gray said. “But this will.” Lyon said. While most of Juvia’s body was surrounding Midnight, a few smalls streams were still on the surrounding ground. Lyon and Gray put their hands to these streams and turned them to ice, while the rest of her form followed. Doing this, the three of them created a large ice geyser with protruding spikes around their opponent. Midnight was incased in the ice and impaled by the spikes, enhanced by Juvia’s magic and Wendy’s spells. Midnight froze, both literally and figuratively. The form was held for several seconds, before breaking apart. Midnight, no longer encased, stood there. He slowly looked up at Gray and Lyon. Both of them looked concerned. _Did that really not do anything?_ , Gray thought. Midnight spoke.

“Only eleven. Another hour, and…” he trailed off. His knees buckled, and he fell to the ground. The pieces of ice on the ground dissolved to water, and reassembled. Juvia retook her human form, while sitting on the ground. “Did it work?” she asked. Gray nodded. “Yeah it did. Good plan.” He said. Juvia smiled.

“Thanks. I just need to rest a minute.” She said. The fight had taken a lot out of her. Gray and Lyon weren’t as tired, but were covered in cuts and bruises. But while this fight was unfolding, the fight against Brain was happening nearby.

Brain was surrounded by Gajeel, Lucy, Wendy, and Jura. Jura was using earth magic to attack Brain, although Brain was blocking most of it. Lucy had summoned Cancer to attack Brain. But Brain quickly beat Cancer with a series of blows. Brain picked him up and threw him at Lucy. She half dodged, but still got knocked down for her troubles, with Cancer disappearing seconds later. Jura was getting worn out, and Wendy had been unable to directly attack the evil wizard, instead supporting her allies. That left Gajeel to take up much of the load. Gajeel tried using an iron hammer. It connected, knocking Brain back, but he countered by swinging his staff at Gajeel in the face, and firing a small blast at him.

Now that his enemies were vulnerable, Brain took the opportunity to power up. He decided it was time to finish this. He grinned, sensing he was about to be victorious. “You’re all about to die. And then I can have Nirvana.” Brain powered up his magic, channeling it through his staff. The room glowed with his increasing magic power. Without saying anything, the others all realized the same thing: this was their last chance. They had to take Brain down now, or it was over. They were all running low on magic power, so this would be their last shot anyway. Gajeel got to his feet, and began building up an iron dragon roar. It would use up the last of his iron reserves. Jura began charging a powerful earth attack.

Lucy was badly hurt, and unable to stand. She wasn’t sure what to do. Most of her spirits had already failed. She only had enough power for one more summon. She then noticed a puddle in the floor nearby, created by the rain. She knew what to do now. “She’s gonna be mad, but I’ll deal with that later.” Lucy said weakly. She pulled out a key, and dipped it into the water. “Aquarius.” She said. Sure enough, the blue haired water spirit materialized out of the water on command.

After that, everything seemed to happen at once. Brain released a huge blast of energy from his staff, aiming it at Lucy, Gajeel and Jura all at once. Aquarius unleashed a powerful stream of water, while Gajeel released his roar. Jura joined in with an attack he calls “rumbling Mt. Fuji”, casing a wave of magic power to erupt from the ground near Brain. Brain used all of his power to hold this combined assault off. He just needed to wait several seconds, and they would run out of power. But then a fourth assault joined in from the side. It was Wendy Marvell. She fired a sky dragon roar, yelling it in her prepubescent voice. Brain hadn’t even been paying attention to her, writing her off as a non-threat. He had miscalculated. Wendy’s added assault was enough to overwhelm Brain, knocking him to the ground. The four magical attacks combined into an unstoppable force, and created an impressive spectacle. Once the assault stopped, Brain lay motionless on the ground. He was defeated. The fight was over.

Now that the fighting was over, the coalition members (the ones who were still conscious) gathered at the top of the steps in what was left of the building. About half of it had been destroyed in the fight. Gray sat down and leaned back against a wall. He felt tired. Actually, everyone looked drained. “We did it.” Wendy said in a small, but proud, voice.

“Where did you learn to do that roar?” Gajeel asked her.

“From watching you.” Wendy answered. Gajeel raised an eyebrow. “Huh.” He replied.

“This has been a long day.” Lucy said, rubbing her tired eyes with her hands. Gray, sitting a few feet from her, stretched his arms, feeling both relief and pain. “Yeah. But its over now.” He said. Just then, something stirred nearby. It was Brain. He moved his head. The group stopped what they were doing and looked at him. “You’re lucky… the others are still linked to me. Otherwise… none of you would have survived.” He said. He then lost consciousness.

“What do you think he meant by that?” asked Juvia, who was standing close by. “Who knows?” Gray responded, too tired to care. But something stirred again. This time it wasn’t Brain though. It was the staff. Brain’s staff began to levitate above him. Gray and Gajeel got to their feet as it approached.

“You think this is over? Its not over.” The staff spoke. “I’ll find the other members, and we’ll come back for you all. Then there’ll be a reckoning.” Team Fairy Tail exchanged glances with each other, a mixture of confusion and concern. “Who are you?” Lucy said. The staff laughed at her. “I am Klodoa, the secret seventh member of the Oracion Seis. You haven’t won. This is just a setback. We’ll be back. All of us. Maybe we’ll even find some new members to replace the traitors. Who needs them? But all of you-“ Klodoa froze midsentence. Literally. While Klodoa was talking, Gray came up behind him and froze the stick using his magic. It fell to the ground. Gray looked down at it. “I _said_ its over now.”

***  
Not long after the battle was over, the Rune Knights showed up to clean up the mess. They dealt with whatever dark guilds still remained in the area. Brain and Midnight were arrested. Racer’s body was taken away. Nirvana was put under guard until they could figure out what to do with it.

None of the coalition members had died, although some of them, like Ichiya, had suffered serious injuries during the fighting. Wendy had been able to help a few of them with her healing magic, but she was still drained from the battles and could only do so much. Shortly afterwards, the four guild teams all decided to head back. They all agreed to take Wendy back to the Cait Shelter guild in her village, since it was fairly close by.

***  
Things quickly erupted into chaos. It had been building from the moment Raven Tail had shown up, and then escalated when the other faction arrived. Angel’s appearance finally pushed it over the edge. No one was willing to stand around talking any longer. The horde of monsters began moving towards the guild quickly. Several Fairy Tail mages charged them. Macao, Levy, Elfman, and others joined in the fray. They began firing spells at the monsters, with varying effectiveness. In most cases the magic didn’t seem to do much damage. One of the human monsters grabbed Macao and began clawing at him and biting him, drawing blood. Cana, nearby, threw at card at it, creating a small explosion. This caused the monster to stumble, and Macao threw fire into its face, knocking it back.

Cana then noticed one of the Raven Tail members still present. Flare. Cana looked at her and said, “You gonna help?” Flare looked unsure. “Look, as long as you’re here you’re in danger too. Its up to you though.” Cana said. Flare nodded. “Yeah. You’re right.” She said, as she let her hair loose. Flare’s hair lit up, and she began attacking the invaders. Despite her initial reluctance, she quickly seemed to get into it. Cana, seeing this, suddenly thought of something. She turned to Makarov. “Is it okay to kill these things? They don’t exactly seem intelligent…” Makarov looked at her. “We might not have a choice. I don’t think we can reason with them, and they don’t seem to stay down easily.” Cana nodded, and drew more cards.

In the distance, the samurai lord was hanging back. He and his guards were marking symbols into the ground. Elfman, having just finished another monster person, noticed this. “I think they’re preparing some kind of spell.” He said to no one in particular. He began moving towards the samurai, pushing away the attackers. After only taking a few steps, he was suddenly hit hard by something from the side. It knocked him to the ground hard. He shook his head, and looked up. It was the little girl. In all of the confusion, Elfman had forgotten about her and her father.

“Mirajane told you how my magic works, right? Attract and repel.” The symbols on her robe were glowing. She held both hands towards him in a pushing motion, and another strong force came from her, pressing Elfman against a wall. “Seraiisa stop!” Mirajane said. The girl turned towards Mirajane. “No.” she said. She then fired another magical force at Elfman. But Elfman slowly got up. “Its okay Mira. It’ll take more than that to take me down.” He said.

“How about this?” a voice next to him said. Before Elfman could respond, he was blindsided with a hard punch. Elfman fell to his knees. He looked up to see himself. Or at least, someone who looked exactly like him. “What’s the matter, never seen a real man before?” the doppelganger said. Elfman didn’t know how to respond to this. He took a swing at the imposter, it dodged and punched him back.

“Try to make it quick Gemini. Show no mercy.” It was Angel who said this. She was standing a few yards away, observing. While this was happening, Seraiisa was preparing another blast. They were ganging up on Elfman. Suddenly Mystogan appeared and grabbed her hand, stopping the spell. She looked up at him, and used her other hand to launch an attack. He barely moved. Seraiisa seemed confused by this. “You’re not a mage.” She said. Mirajane, seeing this, remembered Seraiisa saying something about her power being more effective with powerful mages. _But what does she mean Mystogan isn’t a mage?_ , she thought.

“You’re right. Fortunately for you, I’m also not the sort of man who would hurt a little girl.” Mystogan let go of her arm, and she stepped back. Her father put his hands on her shoulders in a protective gesture. Mystogan looked at the two of them. “Leave and don’t come back. Next time I won’t be so nice.” He then turned towards the crowd of monsters. And drew a stave. “Its time to end this.” He said. He began preparing a spell. But he was hit with a force from the side. It wasn’t Seraiisa. It was a celestial spirit. “Good job Scorpio.” Angel said.

Elsewhere, in the middle of the crowd the mages were battling the monsters. Flare was whipping her fiery hair at them, which actually seemed more effective than some of the other spells. But they were still hard to put down. Next to her was Nab, who was trying to fight off an attacker. But as he was distracted something attacked him It was a rollidillo, biting into his abdomen with its large jaw. Nab cried out. Levy, nearby, used her script magic to drop an ice shard on the creature. It seemed to hurt it, but it still wouldn’t let go. “Someone help him!” Levy cried.

Flare heard her. She wasn’t fighting anything at the moment, so she used her enflamed hair to whip the creature repeatedly in quick succession. Its body was badly burned, and it let go. Nab and the creature both collapsed. They were both dead. Levy watched this happen, and was horrified. She covered her mouth with her hands and took several steps back.

Back at the guild entrance, Mirajane was helplessly watching this all unfold. She was upset at the carnage, and frustrated at not being able to help. But she was most concerned about Elfman at the moment. Elfman was still fighting Gemini in his mirror image. They had both transformed into beast form to fight it out. Mirajane couldn’t tell which was which. Mystogan was also still fighting Scorpio, while trying to avoid getting close to the monsters. Mystogan was using his staves to attack Scorpio, but Scorpio blocked it with a sand wall. While Mystogan was distracted, something grabbed him from behind. It was a female monster with a ghoulish face, grabbing on to him. She wasn’t hurting him, but she was preventing him from fighting. Scorpio took advantage of this by striking Mystogan with several sand blasts to the abdomen, bringing him to his knees. The monster woman grabbed his head, holding him.

“Finish him.” Angel said to Scorpio. Scorpio took aim with his tail, and fired a powerful sand blast. Mystogan pulled away from the woman’s grasp, although she was holding onto tightly to his mask. The blast hit the woman instead, bones audibly breaking from the impact. Mystogan, now unmasked, quickly got up and grabbed a few staves. He threw them around Scorpio and cast a spell. A powerful beam of magic erupted from the ground underneath the scorpion spirit. Within seconds it disappeared, and so did Scorpio. Mystogan fell to one knee, still hurt. But his face was now exposed. Mirajane was surprised to find that she recognized him. And so was Angel.

“You’re… Jellal.” Angel said. “That’s impossible.” Her face was hard to read. Mystogan looked up at her. “I’m not who you think I am.” He said. She looked at him a moment, looking like she was about to say something. But then she heard a loud yell from behind. She turned to see Gemini pinning Elfman down. Elfman had run out of magical power, and was now back in his regular form. Gemini was still transformed though. Elfman appeared beaten. Angel made a decision. She used a silver key to summon something. It was silver and metallic. Some kind of weapon. She held it like a machinegun. “First I’ll kill this idiot, and then I’ll deal with you, whoever you are.” She said to Mystogan. She aimed the weapon at Elfman and began powering it up.

“No, don’t!” Mirajane yelled. Angel ignored her and continued powering the weapon. Elfman was too drained to break free from the hold of his double. He looked over at Mirajane. He mouthed something to her, although she couldn’t hear it. He didn’t look angry, or scared. Just sad. Mirajane screamed. The weapon reached full charge. It fired. A deadly blast of energy shot out of it. But instead of hitting Elfman, it fired up into the sky. It had been knocked to the ground, along with Angel. Angel didn’t know what hit her. She looked up, and saw Mirajane. Except she was different. She didn’t look the way she had a moment ago. She looked scary, and dangerous. Angel could sense the power from her. Mirajane was now in her demon form. It was the magic known as Satan Soul.

“You hurt my family.” Mirajane said in a distorted voice. Angel grimaced. “Gemini, help me!” Gemini let go of Elfman, and ran towards Mirajane.

“Kill that filthy demon.” Angel snarled. It charged at Mirajane, throwing a punch. She grabbed his arm and effortlessly pulled him up above her, and slammed him into the ground, leaving a small crater. Gemini’s Elfman form dissipated, returning Gemini to their normal forms. Small and weak. They then disappeared as well. With that done, Mirajane turned back towards Angel. Except Angel wasn’t there. She was running away, weaving through the fight going on to escape Mirajane. Mirajane didn’t want to let her go. She spread her demonic wings and lifted into the air. She flew over the crowd of mages and monsters fighting below. She could see Angel in the middle of it, making surprisingly fast progress. Mirajane dove towards her. Angel noticed the approaching foe. She quickly summoned another spirit. It was Aries, the ram. She stood between Mirajane and Angel. Mirajane plowed through Aries with little effort, knocking her down. But it still slowed Mirajane enough to let Angel get further. She lifted into the air again, and saw that Angel had made it back to the samurai and his guard. She flew closer to them, and saw the guards get up at the sight of her.

They were all carrying swords. But they actually began firing magic at her. Black, smoky projectiles. Mirajane dodged most of them, but one hit her shoulder. It burned. She lowered to the ground to face them. Two charged at her while the other two hung back. Mirajane used her great speed and strength to avoid their attacks, and clawed at them. After several seconds she defeated the two attacking her, leaving only the other two. She prepared for them. But something was coming. She could see a large group approaching. More monsters. More samurai warriors. Dozens of them. Even in her powerful form, this sight concerned her.

On the other side of the battle, Master Makarov had been helping in the fight too. But as it went on, he saw how bloody it was getting. He saw several of his mages killed. Besides Nab, Joey Fullborn and Mickey Chickentiger had also been killed. While there was a lot going on, all of these things had been happening in a short span of time. It hadn’t even been ten minutes since the two groups started fighting. Makarov felt overwhelmed by all of this. But he also knew he had to do something. So, he used his signature power. He grew giant. He grew, and his muscles bulged, and he towered over everything. He was able to pick up the monster attackers individually and smash them, until there were only a few left. But then he saw the large horde approaching, just as Mirajane did. This was too much. He decided that there was only one thing to do. He began to prepare the spell for Fairy Law.

Fairy Law is an immensely powerful spell that would take out all of Fairy Tail’s enemies at once, but at the cost of some of Makarov’s life. But he felt he had no alternative. “You leave me no choice. I will cast Fairy Law, and destroy you all.” He said this loud enough for everyone to hear. He noticed the samurai lord quickly get to his feet, and his guard step back. Makarov wondered if they were familiar with the spell. He put his hands together in preparation.

Yoshimoto, the samurai master, took a step forward. “Wait! Don’t do that. I command you to stop.” He said. Makarov ignored him. The spell was quickly powering. Yoshimoto quickly turned around toward the horde, and signaled. Two samurai came forward. They had their swords drawn, and were pushing two people in front of them. Hostages, since their hands were bound. The two hostages were forced to their knees and the samurai put their swords to the hostages’ backs, point first. Yoshimoto spoke loudly, “If you don’t stop, they will be killed. They belong to you. Do you want them to die?” Makarov heard this, and looked at the hostages Yoshimoto was talking about. Makarov froze. He recognized the two hostages. They were Gray Fullbuster and Lucy Heartfilia. Makarov was shocked by this. They weren’t supposed to be here. They were supposed to be off facing the Oracion Seis.

Everyone stopped. The monsters that Fairy Tail had been fighting had been taken out. So, the remaining mages looked at what was happening. Gray and Lucy’s voices could be heard. “Untie us right now! Fight me like a man.” Gray said. “I can’t die like this.” Lucy said, shaking. The swords were pressed against their backs, with the sword holders prepared to impale them on command. Yoshimoto spoke up again. “If you stop your spell, we will leave, and we will also let them go. No one else needs to die… for the moment.” Makarov felt he had little choice. He didn’t want to see anymore of his children die. He canceled the spell. The samurai lord nodded. “Good. We will leave now.” He somehow summoned a large grey portal behind him. It appeared to be full of smoke and shadow. There was no telling where it led.

“Let them go!” Makarov said. “Of course.” Yoshimoto said. He signaled the two soldiers with the swords. Seeing the signal, they impaled Lucy and Gray with their swords. It was quick and bloody. They pulled the swords back out, and Gray and Lucy fell to the ground, lifeless. Makarov screamed. There were horrified gasps from the gathered mages. Yoshimoto, along with Angel, Seraiisa, and her father, took this opportunity to escape through the portal. Seconds later, it disappeared. Almost immediately after they left, something happened. The horde disappeared as well. And so did the bodies of Gray and Lucy. They all vanished. For a moment there was confusion. But then they began to realize what had happened. Makarov spoke it. “Illusion. It was just an illusion.” Nobody seemed to notice that the rain had finally stopped.

***  
Shortly after the battle ended, Makarov used a lacrima to contact the coalition. It took some time to reach them. Once he did, it was confirmed that Gray and Lucy were alive and well, along with the rest of the team.

While Lucy and Gray’s deaths, along with the horde of reinforcements, had been an illusion, the rest of it wasn’t. Several members of the guild died that night. The corpses of the monsters lay about. Later, the Rune Knights arrived in response to what had happened. They cleaned up the monster corpses and took them away. What they planned to do with them was unclear. They also arrested Ivan and the other surviving Raven Tail members. Makarov did mention that Ivan was likely under a magical influence, which may grant him leniency.

After being told what had happened, the Fairy Tail team with the coalition quickly decided to return to the guild as soon as possible. They were expected to be back later in the morning.

***  
The girl had fallen asleep. Hours had passed. She had waited in the garden, with nothing better to do at the time. It was a quiet, peaceful night. And yet, her dreams were not at all peaceful. She dreamt of pain, and lies, and death. She tossed and turned, trying to outrun the grim specters in her mind. She woke suddenly, feeling anxious. The images were already fading, but she was still left with a feeling of dread. She got to her feet and stretched. She heard a noise and turned to the entrance.

“Hello again.” Boudica said. “Still out here? You should be in bed.” The girl looked at the ground. “I was waiting…”

“For him you mean.” Boudica said. The girl nodded. Boudica smiled. “Well, I was going to wait until morning, but since you stayed out here just to see him…” she trailed off, and made a gesture at the entrance, signaling someone to enter. A man stepped into the garden, and the girl’s eyes brightened at seeing him. Just seeing him made her forget the bad dreams. She smiled at him. “Hi Natsu.” She said to him.

Natsu Dragneel looked at her from under his unruly hair. His expression was hard to read. But he had wanted to see her, just as she had wanted to see him. For a long time, he couldn’t see her, or speak to her, because she was dead. But now she was alive, and standing right in front of him. He locked eyes with her, and spoke her name: “Lisanna.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, time to update the tags. I don't know how people will react to this twist, or the new tags. I could probably wait a little longer before adding them, but I feel its been long enough. I would have added them sooner, since I want to be upfront about what to expect from this story. But certain tags are spoilers, so I felt it was better to wait. There are still a few more tags that will be added in future chapters.
> 
> This chapter could probably be considered the end of act 1 of the story. The last few chapters have been more action oriented, but the next few will be more character focused. As for the Nirvana story, I decided to write that differently from the canon for a few reasons. One, because I just thought it would be more interesting to do something new instead of rehashing the same canon story people already know. Two, is because of the absence of Erza and Natsu. Those two characters obviously played a pivotal role in the Nirvana story, and I felt that if the story played out the same, but with those two gone, then logically it would have resulted in the villains being victorious. That's not good, so I had to do something different.
> 
> From the beginning, I knew that I wanted to introduce original villains into this story (since that's more interesting than just reusing the canon villains all the time), and I also wanted to explore how Erza's death would change things. That includes the people who knew her, and Fairy Tail as a whole. All of these things will continue to be further developed as the story goes on.


	14. Friends and Enemies

The long night was finally over. It was morning again. In stark contrast to the previous day, it was now sunny with a clear blue sky. Which only served to highlight the destruction that had occurred the day before. The area around the Fairy Tail guild had been damaged from magical attacks, among other things. The guild itself was in decent shape, but had a few noticeable holes in its walls from where the monsters invaded. This drew the attention of random citizens who would stop and stare. Because of the late hour and the rain, most people had been inside their homes when all of this was happening, and were unaware of what had gone on.

Inside the guild, various members of Fairy Tail were gathered. Despite the sun, it was getting cold, so most were dressed in long sleeves and jackets. Not everyone was there, but most of the people from the night before were. Evergreen and Bickslow were there too. They had both left before the fighting started and didn’t find out about it until after the fact. Makarov was there, and several other mages were gathered around him in a loose circle. This included the four that had gone to fight the Oracion Seis. But it also included two extra: Wendy Marvell, and her companion Carla. They were both standing there looking somewhat uncomfortable. Makarov addressed them.

“Wendy, Carla, welcome to Fairy Tail. I only wish it were under better circumstances.” He said. He was referring to the state of the guild, and the fact that several members had died the night before. But there was another element that cast a pall over things. Makarov didn’t know all the details, but Gray, Lucy, and the others who were with Wendy knew. Lucy, Gray and Juvia were standing near each other, and exchanged glances. None of them said anything since the master was talking, but they each contemplated the situation in their own way. Lucy looked at Wendy and remembered what had happened.

After the fighting was over and everything had been sorted out, they all made it back to Wendy’s village. They met Wendy’s master and the other members of Cait Shelter there. They were all pretty friendly. Wendy seemed happy to be back. Brain’s plan had been thwarted. They also now knew where Nirvana was, and the magic council was in the process of figuring out how to destroy it. But first they would need to break through the barrier around, it, which they said should take a couple days. It looked like everything had been resolved.

But then the other shoe fell. The master of Cait Shelter revealed that it was not a real magic guild. The master himself was a ghost who had stayed there until Nirvana could be neutralized. And the other guild members were just illusions who had been created for Wendy’s sake. She had been abandoned here years earlier, and needed friends, so the master created friends for her. But now they had to go. Wendy was terribly upset over this, finding out that none of friends were real, and now they were all disappearing forever. Wendy’s master tried to console her by saying that she had real friends now, and a real guild to join, just before he too disappeared. But in that moment, this provided little comfort for her. She fell to her knees and cried her heart out in front of everyone. As far as she was concerned, she had just lost everyone she was close to. Even her guild mark disappeared.

As Wendy cried, everyone else just stood there, watching her. Nobody said anything. Nobody _knew_ what to say. How could anything comfort her in that moment? And yet, Lucy couldn’t help but think of Erza Scarlet. Somehow, Lucy felt that if Erza had been there then she would have known what to say. She would have been able to comfort Wendy in a way that no one else could. Lucy wasn’t sure why she believed that so strongly. But Erza wasn’t there. So Wendy continued to cry until she was exhausted. Then, she just sat down and stared blankly for a time. Finally, Lucy and Gray awkwardly walked over to her and told her that she was welcome to join Fairy Tail if she wanted. Carla encouraged this. Wendy looked up at them and nodded weakly. She gave a faint smile and said, “thank you”, but it sounded half-hearted. Lucy tried to come up with something reassuring to say, but still couldn’t find any words. So instead she just put a hand on Wendy’s shoulder as a comforting gesture.

After that, the teams comprising the coalition went their separate ways. Team Fairy Tail, now including Wendy and Carla, took a train back home. Most of the team slept on the train on the way back. But Wendy spent much of the ride sitting there, looking sullen. By the time they got off the train and entered the city, Wendy didn’t look as bad, perhaps because she was distracted by the new sights and sounds around her. But when they got back to the guild hall and saw the state it was in, she seemed distressed. The rest of the group shared in this feeling.

Reflecting on all this, Lucy sighed. She then noticed Makarov was talking, and she hadn’t heard what he’d been saying. “And now we need to talk about the tragic losses from yesterday. Nab Lasaro, Joey Fullborn, and Mickey Chickentiger. Members of our Fairy Tail family, tragically killed in battle. A funeral will be held for them later this week.” Makarov continued speaking. Lucy felt sad that there was even more death and tragedy. It hadn’t even been that long since Erza and Freed. She hadn’t known Nab that well, and she was barely even aware of Joey and Mickey, if she was being honest. They were still a part of Fairy Tail though, and now they were dead. She couldn’t help but feel sad about that. Gray had his own feelings on the situation. Instead of feeling sad, he felt angry. He felt anger at the ones who attacked Fairy Tail. And also anger at himself for not being there to help. He knew that he had no way of knowing what would happen. But he couldn’t help feeling that if he had been there then he could have made a difference. Maybe things wouldn’t be as bad as they are now.

Makarov finished talking about the upcoming funeral, and turned to Wendy again. “Wendy, you probably want to get situated right now. You just got here, you don’t need to hear all of this.” Wendy looked at him. “Its fine. I don’t mind.” She said awkwardly. Bisca walked over towards her. “I can show her around. Find a place for her to stay.” Makarov nodded at this. Bisca escorted Wendy to another part of the guild while the meeting continued. “That poor girl.” Juvia commented.

“With everything that she’s been through, I figured it would be good to give her time to rest and readjust before overwhelming her with the current crisis.” Makarov explained. No one objected to this. The master gathered his thoughts, and then said, “Now, we need to talk about the biggest issue. These people that attacked our guild yesterday. They need to be dealt with.”

“We don’t even know who they are.” Cana said.

“No, but we can find out. People like that shouldn’t be too hard to find. I’ll contact the magic council and see if I can get any information from them.” Makarov said. “There’s gotta be something we can do in the meantime.” Gray said.

“I think it would be a good idea to look for information on dark guilds throughout the kingdom.” Makarov said. He looked over to Levy, standing behind the circle. “Yeah, I can do that. But are you sure we should limit the search to Fiore?” she said.

“What do you mean?” Makarov said.

“Well, Seraiisa, the little girl, said that she and her family were from Bosco.” Levy said.

“That’s assuming she was telling the truth.” Gray said.

“Can’t trust anything she said.” Elfman added.

Makarov considered all of this. “You can look for dark guilds in Bosco too, just in case.” At that moment Lucy stepped forward. “I can help you look, Levy. We can use the speed reader glasses. We should be able to find something.” Levy smiled at this. “Thanks Lucy. But you know, even with speed reader glasses this might take a while.”

“I know.” Lucy said.

“Well then, you two can look into that.” Makarov stated. “But first, there’s one last thing we need to talk about: Mystogan. Or maybe I should say, Jellal.”

“Didn’t Mirajane say that he’s not Jellal though?” Cana said. They turned to look at Mirajane, sitting at the end of a table nearby. She hadn’t said much during the meeting, and appeared distracted. She noticed everyone looking at her. “Oh, Mystogan? Well, he didn’t exactly say he wasn’t Jellal in so many words, but I don’t think he’s the same guy.”

“But you don’t know that for sure…?” Gray said. Mirajane looked uncertain. “Well, no. I didn’t get a chance to question him with everything that was going on.” Mirajane said.

“We will question him. He’s recovering from his injuries right now. Apparently, they were worse than they looked at the time. Maybe Wendy can help him later after her magic has finished recovering. We don’t just need to ask him about his identity though. We also need to ask him about the attackers. He said that he had been following Seraiisa, and had information about them. Maybe there are other things he can tell us about them.” Makarov finished speaking, and sighed. “Now, I need to get ready to leave for the magic council. I think its best if I talk to them in person.”

“Be careful, Master.” Mirajane said. Makarov nodded. “I will. And you all be careful too.” Makarov paused a moment, and looked down at the floor. “You know, with everything that’s happened, its made me think. How life is short, and fragile, and can end without warning. You can’t take anything for granted. If there’s something you want to do, or _need_ to do, then do it now. Because you never know what might happen tomorrow.” As Makarov finished talking, the rest of the gathered mages reflected on his words. Some of them appeared more affected by what he said than others. Makarov looked up, and noticed the maudlin atmosphere.

“Hey uh, look. I was just thinking out loud. I don’t want you all to get hung up on what I said. You’re all still young, and I’m sure you all have long lives ahead of you. I just want you to stay safe is all.” Makarov said. He then got up and wished them good luck as he went to prepare for his trip to the magic council. After he left, many of the group stood there a minute, still thinking about his words. He had tried to reassure them, but its obvious that at least some of them took what he said to heart.

As the group dispersed, Elfman walked over towards his sister and sat down across from her. She still appeared distracted, and he also noticed that she looked a little sad. “Hey.” He said. Mirajane looked up at him. “Hey.” She replied. Elfman felt awkward. He was unsure what to say. “Sooo… how are you doing? I mean, are you okay?” he said.

“I’m alright, I guess.” She said. Her tone conflicted with her words. Elfman spoke up. “Look, I know last night was hard. But we’ll get through this. And we’ll make them pay.” Mirajane smiled faintly at his words. “Yeah. But… I am getting tired of losing friends and guild mates. And then there’s _her_ …” she trailed off. She looked down at the table, twirling her finger in the whorls of the wood. Elfman rubbed his chin, choosing his next words.

“You know Mira, I’ve gotta be honest. I don’t know why you got so attached to that girl. You didn’t even know her that well.”

“Maybe I didn’t know her at all.” Mirajane replied.

“Well, yeah. She was plotting all this behind our backs. Honestly, I thought she was kind of creepy to start with. I don’t get what you saw in her.” He said. Mirajane thought for a minute. Now it was her turn to consider her words. “I know she was strange. But I also thought she was charming, and clever. I enjoyed her company. Besides…” Mirajane hesitated, looking uncertain if she wanted to finish the thought. “Besides, she kind of felt like… like a little sister.” As soon as she said it, a silence came up between them. “Oh.” Was all Elfman could say. The two of them just sat there. Elfman didn’t know what to say. He was never good at emotional talks. But this particular subject was something he never liked to think about. As they sat there, he could see tears in her eyes. He felt he had to say something. “Mira, I…” he began. But Mirajane cut him off.

“Its fine, Elfman. I’ll be alright. I should go ask the master if he needs help with anything.” She got up from the table and started walking off. “Mira, wait.” Elfman said. But she kept walking. He put his hand to his face and sighed.

***  
Elsewhere, there was a gray stone building situated within a field, which in turn was surrounded by a great forest. The building was long and wide, but not tall. No more than three stories. There were two other buildings nearby, both bigger and more impressive. But it was in the three-story stone building that a different sort of meeting was being held. It was in a wide-open room on the second floor, with a few large windows. Because of the position of the sun and the size of the room, natural lighting was often not enough. There were several magical lights emitting a cool toned glow around the room. Even then, it was not a brightly lit room. There was a large table at the center, with maps and tools piled together, and several chairs around. The chairs were large, and more like thrones.

Currently, there were four people in this room. They were the only four people who ever used the room, and only during meetings like this one. Two of them were sitting at the table, while the other two chose to stand. At one end of the table sat Lord Yoshimoto, the samurai lord who had attacked Fairy Tail the night before. He was not wearing his helmet now. He was middle aged, with dark hair and a beard. “This Fairy Tail guild, I dealt them a serious wound yesterday. It should be easy to go back and finish them.” He said.

Standing at the other end of the table was Boudica, the woman who had interfered in the plans of the Oracion Seis. She regarded Yoshimoto from across the table. “Really? If its so easy then why didn’t you do it then and there? From what I understand you retreated, quite shamelessly.” Boudica said. She didn’t sound annoyed. Instead, her tone expressed a combination of disappointment and amusement. Yoshimito however felt insulted by her comments.

“You weren’t there. You didn’t see what happened.” He said, defending himself. Another voice interjected. “If I had been there, there would have been no retreat. And there would be no Fairy Tail guild still standing.” This voice came from a man standing at one side of the table. He was a very large man, around seven feet tall. He was dressed in primitive clothes. Animal skins and furs, with his torso and legs bare. He wore a red cloak, and a necklace of bones. He was muscular, with tanned skin, and tattoos on various parts of his body. He had long dark hair, and a face that some may consider handsome in a rugged sort of way.

Yoshimoto stiffened at this latest comment. “You were not there, Arnok. I was.” Arnok looked straight at Yoshimoto. “Yes. There’s the problem. Sending a coward to do the work of a warrior.” Arnok spoke in a masculine voice.

“Well Arnok, you did say that you wanted Lamia Scale for yourself. And you smashed their guild hall. Good job.” This comment came from the fourth person at the meeting. He was sitting at the other side of the table across from Arnok. He sat on a bronze colored throne. It made quiet noises, and occasionally hissed, indicating that it was mechanical. He was a young man with dark hair and spectacles. He was holding a book concerning the development of magic. He wore blue and black robes, and was good looking, in an intellectual way. Sitting on the table right in front of him was what appeared to be another mechanical creation that resembled a cat. It was a crude resemblance, and obviously a machine, but definitely modeled after a house cat.

Arnok ignored him. The samurai lord turned to the young man and said, “I told you not to bring those things into here.” He was referring to the ‘cat’. The mechanical creature turned towards Yoshimoto, and gazed at him with glowing blue eyes. They were in fact glowing with magic. “Its not bothering you.” The young man said, petting his cat. Yoshimoto looked like he still wanted to say something. But Boudica responded first, changing the subject. “Arnok and Sael both did excellent work with Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus.”

“And you recruited half the Oracion Seis. I’m impressed. All I did was stop them from reaching Nirvana with the barrier.” the young man, Sael, said.

“An important contribution though.” Boudica said. She then turned back to the samurai. “And I’m sure Yoshimoto had his reasons for his… tactical retreat.” She said this pleasantly enough, but her eyes challenged him. He stiffened. “Nikodias interfered. He said he wanted a chance to talk to them. I indulged him. That was… a mistake.” He said.

Boudica folded her arms and looked at him. “So, you’re saying Nikodias is to blame then?” she asked, her tone serious. A sudden tension seemed to rise in the air. Sael glanced over at Yoshimoto, who hesitated. “Well…” he began. Boudica waved a hand. “I’m sure you’ll do better next time.” She said more lightly. Despite her light tone, he averted his gaze. “I have important duties to attend to. I must instruct my soldiers for the next battle.” He explained.

“I think that’s a good idea.” Boudica said. They all watched as the samurai got up and exited the room, carrying his helmet under his arm. Sael put his book down on the table. “Any other business?” he asked. Arnok remained silent. He appeared disinterested.

“It doesn’t seem like there is.” Boudica said, responding to Sael. Arnok, still not saying anything, took this as a cue. He stalked off and left the room. “He was never very talkative.” Sael said.

“He’s a man of action, not words.” Boudica said.

“Hmm. He is a monster on the battlefield. But he doesn’t contribute much to these meetings. I’m not sure why he bothers to attend.” He responded. Boudica was about to respond, but noticed there was someone in the doorway at the side entrance to the room. “How long have you been standing there?” she asked. Seraiisa Vannbar stepped into the room.

“Just a few minutes. Those two guys don’t seem like they’re on the same page with everything we’re doing.” She said this as she walked up to the table. She was also holding a long wooden object. She sat on the edge of the table, in between Sael and Boudica, and then laid down on it, with her feet hanging off the edge. Boudica smiled at her.

“Arnok is an important part of our cause, for better or worse. And Yoshimoto… he has his uses.” She said. Seraiisa seemed to accept this answer, and turned her head towards Sael. “Hey Sael. You built a cat, huh? It have a name?” She looked at the cat, and it looked back at her with its glowing eyes. Sael adjusted his glasses.

“I generally don’t name my creations. You can name it if you want though.” He said. She looked at it. “Bitey.” She said. Sael raised an eyebrow. “You know it doesn’t actually have teeth. Of course, I could add them later…” he replied.

“Yeah.” She said. Boudica looked at Seraiisa. “You remember that this table is meant for important business, right? Is there something important you needed to say?” Boudica said evenly. Seraiisa looked over at her and blinked. “Oh! Yeah! I almost forgot.” She sat up on the edge of the table. “This stick. It belonged to that ninja guy from yesterday.” She said. The stave she was holding had some kind of ornamentation at the end. She held it up. “He used this for his magic. He wasn’t actually a mage, I sensed it. But he used this, and a few others. It was powerful.” Boudica took the staff and examined it. “Well, I might be able to do something with this, but I think this is Sael’s area of expertise.” She handed it to Sael, who now examined it himself. He adjusted his glasses again. “I’ll see what I can do with it.” He said. Seraiisa then turned back to Boudica. “One more thing. Those guys you had supervising the new experiment said it should be ready tomorrow.” Boudica nodded.

“I don’t like to think of them as experiments. More like new allies to our cause. Speaking of which, its time to visit our special ally.” She said.

“You mean Natsu?” Seraiisa asked. Boudica shook her head. “No, I’ll check on him later. I mean Ms. Strauss.” At hearing this, Seraiisa suddenly looked down and became quiet. Boudica stood up. “Do you want to come with me?” The little girl thought for a minute. “Okay.” She eventually said. She got up off the table and started following the golden-haired woman out of the room. They walked down a long corridor. The corridor was better lit than the previous room, and had decorative rugs on the floor. As they were walking, Boudica noticed that the girl had become unusually quiet.

“What’s wrong? You miss your friend, right? Mirajane was her name?” she asked. Seraiisa looked up towards her. “I don’t think we’re friends anymore after what happened yesterday.” Boudica considered this.

“You knew this was part of the mission. You agreed to it. But… if it bothers you that much, then maybe I could talk to her at some point.” The girl appeared uncertain. “I don’t know if she’d want to…”

“I can be very persuasive. Maybe we can even find a way to negotiate with their master.” Boudica said. She stopped at a door in the hallway. She opened it a crack and looked inside. Within, there was a shirtless bald man sitting on the floor, surrounded by a few other men in robes. The sitting man had eyes that seemed to be emitting a reddish color, as if there was something inside. He was twitching, and moaning, and seemed to be in pain.

“They said he’ll be ready tomorrow? And the other one?” Boudica asked.

“Yep.” Seraiisa confirmed. 

“Good. I’ll check on them later.” Boudica closed the door. They then proceeded further down the hallway towards the end. They reached a door at the end. Boudica knocked. After a moment, a voice said “Come in.” She opened the door and entered the room. It was a medium sized room. The walls were grey, like the rest of the building. But the room had some adornments. There was a wooden table in the corner with colorful rocks and jewels. There was an animal fur hanging on one of the walls. In another corner there was a small stone pedestal with a winged angelic figure atop it. None of it seemed to match.

Sitting on a bed at the end of the room was a girl in a black dress. It was Lisanna Strauss. She looked over at Boudica and Seraiisa as they entered the room. She got up off the bed as they shut the door behind them. “Hello, Lisanna.” Boudica said.

“Hi.” Lisanna responded. She then looked down at the other visitor. “Hi Seraiisa.” She said. Seraiisa raised a hand and said, “Hey Lisanna.” Lisanna couldn’t help admiring Boudica’s appearance. Her long golden curls, and intense but pretty eyes. She was wearing a long and tight dress, and an animal skin shawl. A blend of elegant and primal. Lisanna herself had somewhat short, white hair. Her lower arms were inhuman, and to a lesser extant so were her lower legs. Her legs were discolored, with what appeared to be a few small bones or spikes jutting from the ankles. Her upper limbs were more normal looking though. Her torso looked completely normal as well. Her face looked human, with two exceptions. Her left eye was still the same clear blue as before. But her right eye was red, with the white part of her right eye looking almost black. Her mouth was normal, so long as it was closed. When she opens her mouth, her teeth are obviously unusual. They are sharper than normal, almost fang like. Lisanna is aware of how abnormal her current appearance is, and is self-conscious about it. For instance, she tries not to show her teeth when smiling.

Lisanna stood there, unsure of what to say. Boudica spoke up first. “I like how you’ve decorated the room. Its eclectic.” Lisanna looked around at the odd assortments she had placed in the room. “Yeah, I… I’ve just been trying different stuff. I guess I’m just trying to see what fits. What feels right for me. Still trying to figure out who I am.” Boudica tilted her head slightly.

“How much do you remember now? When you first awoke, you were quite disoriented. But you’ve regained some memories now, yes?” she asked. Lisanna furrowed her brow. She thought the question over. Then, she slowly answered. “I do remember more now. Not everything. There’s still a lot that’s missing.” Boudica nodded.

“Before we continue, do you mind if we sit down?” she said.

“No, of course.” Lisanna said. She pulled up a chair for Boudica to sit in, which she did. Lisanna herself sat on the bed, while Seariisa just stood by the door. She seemed to be paying more attention to the curios in the room than the conversation. Boudica started again.

“What is the earliest memory you recall?” she asked. Lisanna thought about this. “The earliest memory I recall… is Natsu. I remember me and Natsu as kids. We used to go off and play together. And I remember Happy.”

“Happy?” Boudica said.

“Yeah. He’s this flying blue cat who talks. Natsu found him when he hatched out of an egg.” Lisanna explained. Boudica raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment. “So, you were saying about Natsu…”

“Oh yeah. Like I said, we used to play together and go off alone. In fact, I remember that we used to…” Lisanna trailed off. She was going to say, “we used to play husband and wife together”, but decided against it. It seemed a little too personal to share. Besides, she wasn’t entirely sure where she currently stood with Natsu. She shifted uncomfortably on the bed.

Boudica observed her for a moment, and then decided to shift the topic. “Alright then, tell me Lisanna; what is the most recent memory you have, before you were reawakened?” Boudica sat there with legs crossed, and hands folded, awaiting Lisanna’s response. Lisanna sat there, and thought for a minute. “My most recent memory? I remember…” Lisanna broke off. Her face darkened. She finished the thought.

“I remember dying. I remember being killed. By… by my brother. Elfman.” Boudica leaned forward, and looked pensive. “I see.” She said. Lisanna continued.

“He turned into a huge monster. I felt… scared. I don’t know if I was scared for myself though. I think I was scared for someone else. I think… my sister. She was there. Elfman was going to hurt her. Maybe kill her. I got in his way. He killed me instead. He didn’t hesitate.” A tear rolled down Lisanna’s cheek as she recalled this.

“What an evil thing to do. I can only imagine how you must feel.” Boudica said. Lisanna just looked down, without saying anything. For a minute, no one said anything. Lisanna composed herself. Boudica then said, “Now, if you don’t mind my asking, do you remember anything else about Elfman? Besides this incident, are there any other memories you have of him, specifically?” Lisanna thought this over. Finally, she shook her head. “Not really. Sometimes I feel like I can almost remember something. An image, or a feeling.” She held out her hand, as if she were reaching for something. “But its gone before I can hold onto it. Maybe its better that way. Sorry.” Lisanna looked unsettled.

“That’s okay. I’m only trying to help you. But you mentioned your sister. What do you remember about her?” Boudica inquired. Lisanna looked at her, eyes still teary. “I do remember her. Some things, anyway. But… Can we talk about it some other time? I kind of want to stop now.” Boudica nodded. “Of course. There’s no rush. Some other time then. I’m sorry this upset you. I’ll give you some time alone.” Boudica got up, and placed a hand on Lisanna’s cheek. She leaned in. “It’ll be okay. We’ll help you.” She said quietly, and wiped the tears from her cheek. Boudica then turned around. As she moved toward the door, Seraiisa walked over to Lisanna. She put a hand on Lisanna’s knee. “Sorry about everything you’ve been through. You can always talk to me if you want.” Lisanna smiled at her.

“Thanks. Maybe later.” With that, Seraiisa walked back to the door. As Boudica opened the door to leave, she turned back to Lisanna. “One more thing. In the next few days, we’re going to be dealing with some enemy forces. We’ll be going out a few miles past the valley. I would like it if you would join us.”

“Me? Join you?” Lisanna said. Boudica nodded. “Yes. I think you could be a great help.”

“What about Natsu?” Lisanna said.

“He has his own role to play. I’m asking for you.” Boudica said. Lisanna sat there considering the offer. Boudica continued. “You don’t have to decide right now. Think about it, and let me know.” She smiled, and left the room, followed by Seraiisa. They closed the door, and Lisanna was alone again. She lied down on the bed with her hands behind her head, looking up at the ceiling. There were still things she didn’t remember, and didn’t understand. But she felt that in time, things were going to become clearer to her, one way or another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it isn't obvious, there isn't really a central character in this story. Its more of an ensemble. Which means, unlike the canon, Natsu is not the "star" of this story. Although he does still play an important part.


	15. Relationships

A few days had passed since the Fairy Tail team returned from their mission to stop the Oracion Seis. No new incidents have occurred in Magnolia City since then, and repairs on the guild hall have been taking place. It is now well into the evening, and things are quiet at the guild. A few mages, including Bisca, Alzack, Warrod, and Bickslow, agreed to take turns staying up on the top floor and keeping watch for anyone suspicious approaching from outside. This has been going on for the past few days.

Meanwhile, on the first floor a small group of guild members are gathered for an informal meeting. This includes Levy and Lucy, standing by a pillar near the stage. Evergreen is sitting at a table drinking tea. Gray is sitting on the edge of another table nearby. Juvia is sitting on a bench, and Elfman is standing by the stage with his arms folded. There aren’t many other mages in the guild at the moment, so the lighting is a little dimmer than usual. Levy speaks up first.

“Lucy and I have been researching for the past few days, seeing if we can find any info on the guys who attacked us.” She said. Gray responds, “Did you find anything useful? What they’re called, where their base of operations might be?” Levy shakes her head.

“Not much, unfortunately. We’ve looked at different records and archives, including for guilds in Bosco. We didn’t find anything. Nothing matching their description. We have heard reports of attacks in other parts of Fiore though.” Gray nodded. “Yeah, Lamia scale was attacked. Their guild hall was destroyed. Good thing Lyon and his team weren’t there.”

“Blue Pegasus was attacked too. I heard their master was killed.” Lucy chimed in. Elfman wore a scowl as he heard all of this. “So, they’re a bunch of cowards. They wait until our teams are gone, and then they attack our guilds. Bastards.” He smacked his fist into his palm for emphasis. This prompted Juvia to chime in. “They do seem rather opportunistic. They were able to get a few of the Oracion Seis on their side. But I notice that they waited until the group was split up, and their leader Brain wasn’t around.”

Gray nodded at Juvia’s words. “Yeah. Nothing I’ve heard about them so far makes them sound all that threatening as far as magic power goes. But they’re definitely sneaky as hell.”

“What about that female leader Racer told us about? She sounds like she could be dangerous. What was her name again?” Lucy said.

“It starts with a ‘B’.” Juvia added.

“I bet it does.” Gray contributed.

“Real mature.” Levy said drily. She then closed her eyes, and pinched the area in between her eyes. She felt tired. But she continued. “Anyway, after searching through information on guilds, both dark and legal, we didn’t find anything. Which means that either they’re from somewhere even further away, or they aren’t a magic guild at all.”

“If they’re not a magic guild, then what are they?” Everyone was wondering it, but Evergreen asked the question.

“That is the question.” Levy said wearily. Elfman suddenly stepped forward. “Hey, that one old guy that was with them said that they were from a different time or something. Maybe they’re time travelers.” Evergreen shot Elfman a dirty look. “Time travelers? How stupid are you?” Elfman sneered back at her. But Levy put her finger to her chin. “Hmm. He did say they were from a different time, but I thought he was just being figurative. But maybe we shouldn’t dismiss it.”

“If you say so…” Evergreen said skeptically.

After that, everyone just stood there for a minute with nothing in particular to add. Finally, Levy clapped her hands together and said, “Okay, I guess that’s it then. We’re all caught up now, right? And I’m going to contact the master soon and let him know what’s going on.”

“I thought he’d be back by now.” Lucy said.

“Yeah. The last time I spoke to him he said he’s been having trouble getting information. Apparently, things are pretty busy over at the magic council. Oh and Lucy, I think we’ve done enough research for today. We can pick it up again tomorrow. Appreciate the help as always.”

“No more researching today? Well, if you say so…” Lucy said, trying not to sound too relieved.

“Ha ha, yeah sure. In fact, we can start this up again tomorrow evening. The break might give us a fresh perspective.” Levy said. “Right! Thanks Levy!” Lucy said, already halfway out the door. Watching her go, Levy sighed. “Well, I’ve got a couple things to clean up, and then I guess I should go check on Mr. Mystogan. He’s healed up and says he’s ready to talk.” Levy walked off to the back to go clean up her notes. Gray and Juvia wandered off as well, leaving Evergreen and Elfman the only ones left there.

For a minute neither of them said anything. They exchanged neither words nor glances. Evergreen sat there sipping her tea, and Elfman leaned back against the stage with his arms folded. It was quiet enough that they could hear each other breathing. Evergreen felt that it was starting to get a little awkward, so she decided to say something.

“So, Elfman… how is it going?” she asked. Elfman lifted his head and glanced at her. “Huh? What do you mean?” he asked. Evergreen sighed. “I’m just making conversation. You do know how to have one, right?” Elfman took a step forward and stretched his arms.

“You and I never talked before, and I don’t see why we should start now.” He said. Evergreen shrugged. “Suit yourself.” She looked down at her teacup. It was almost empty. “You know, maybe I should switch to wine.” She mused to herself. Elfman looked over at her. He noticed that she looked like something was bothering her. He also began to wonder why she was sitting here alone at this time of night. She didn’t usually do that. He wasn’t sure if it was concern, or just curiosity, but either way he felt compelled to ask her. “Is something bothering you, Evergreen?” he asked clumsily. She didn’t look up at him. Her gaze remained on her cup. She responded, “Yeah, I suppose. What of it?” Elfman scratched his head.

“Well, you wanna talk about it? I mean, is it this whole thing with the cult group and the samurai, or is it something else?” Elfman kept asking her. He felt uncomfortable, and wasn’t sure how to talk to her. Evergreen glanced up at him. “There’s that. I think everyone is preoccupied with that stuff though. There is something else. But its personal.” She finished the last of her tea. She began eyeing the alcohol nearby. But then she said, “What about you? You seem distracted by something too.” Elfman wondered If he should answer her. He ended up sitting down across from her. He realized he wanted to talk. Not to her specifically, just to someone.

“Well… Mirajane hasn’t been feeling too well. I mean, physically she’s fine. But she just seems kinda down lately.” Elfman explained this as Evergreen listened.

“I heard she got her power back. That’s a good thing.” Evergreen said this sincerely, but also with a hint of jealousy. She had had aspirations of being the strongest woman in Fairy Tail. She had failed to attain that goal during Fantasia, and now Mirajane has her power again. Evergreen was aware of how powerful Mirajane is. Elfman apparently took her remark at face value though.

“Yeah, its good that she’s not helpless anymore. But some of the stuff that’s happened has really gotten to her. I just don’t know what to say.” He made a fist as if he wanted to punch something. He seemed to have trouble figuring out how to solve a problem that didn’t involve manliness.

“I think I understand. Freed is still in a coma. I… really thought he would wake up by now. Bickslow acts like he’s okay, but I can tell its still affecting him. I don’t know what to say either. I don’t know if the Thunder Legion will ever be whole again.” Evergreen didn’t mention the dismissal of Laxus, even though that still bothered her too. She recognized that there was a legitimate reason why he wasn’t there now, even if she wished he were. She rested her head on her palm. Elfman nodded. “Its hard.” Was all he could think to say. He wasn’t expecting to have a conversation like this, especially with Evergreen of all people.

Evergreen started to get up. “Well, its getting late.” She said. Before she could go, Elfman spoke. “Hey uh, Evergreen. You said you were thinking of having wine, right? Did you… want someone to drink with?” he asked, not looking her in the eye. Evergreen looked surprised. “You mean, you and me? Drinking together?” Elfman suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Yeah well… Never mind, it was a bad idea.” Evergreen considered for a moment. “Actually, I wouldn’t mind that. We can have a drink.” She said. She wasn’t sure if she was just lonely, or if she was seeing something in Elfman that she hadn’t seen before. But she found that she was surprisingly not opposed to his suggestion.

Elfman looked back at her in surprise, and then smiled a little. “Really? Well okay then.” He said.

“Just drinks though. That’s all.” She added. “Right, right.” Elfman said. He stood up. “But hey, if we’re going to get drinks then I gotta tell you, wine isn’t really my thing. I want something more manly.” Evergreen blew air out of her nose. “I knew you were going to say that.”

“Am I that predictable?” Elfman asked. Evergreen put her finger to her chin and considered her reply. “Predictability isn’t always a bad thing.”

***  
Outside the Fairy Tail guild, Lucy Heartfilia was walking home. She was a few blocks from the guild by this point, and was slowly making her way back to her apartment. She was walking alone down the street. It was a quiet night. No rain, no wind. It was cloudy though, so she couldn’t see the moon or stars. There were only a few other people walking around. It was still a little while before Lucy’s usual time to go to bed, but she was tired from helping Levy research all day.

She walked for several minutes without stopping or looking at anything. Her head was full of distracting thoughts. The research she was helping Levy with, of course. But other things too. She hadn’t had a chance to train lately. She still felt too weak. Especially with the guild losing so many members, either due to death or other circumstances. And she also worried about another attack by this mysterious group. She was fairly confident Fairy Tail could beat them in another confrontation. But how many more people might die?

As she was thinking these things, she suddenly stopped walking. She had come to a dead end. This confused her. She looked around, and realized she had somehow walked into an alley. Lucy realized she must have taken a wrong turn at some point. _Damn, I wasn’t paying attention_ , she thought. She turned around, and started walking back out of the alley. She needed to get her bearings. As she walked, she saw someone standing at the alley entrance. She stopped. It was dark, so she couldn’t see clearly. It appeared to be a man in a coat. She became nervous. _It could be nothing. Or it could be an enemy._ She thought this as she stood there. He wasn’t moving. Just standing and watching. Lucy backed up a little, and felt something behind her. Someone grabbed her. He held her tight, and the man at the alley entrance began walking closer. Lucy no longer felt tired. Her body was now full of adrenaline.

She tried to fight, and thrashed, but the person holding her had her tight, and she couldn’t escape. The man in front of her walked closer. She could see his face, but didn’t recognize him. He looked sleazy and unshaven. He was wearing drab clothes. “Let’s see what you got.” He said. He reached towards her. She felt scared as he started reaching at her clothes. He just put his hands into her pockets though, at least for the moment. He pulled out her wallet and looked at it. “Not much in here.” He said. She was starting to think these guys had nothing to do with the people who attacked Fairy Tail. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She realized they might just be robbers. Or, they might be something worse, even if they’re not connected to the attackers from before. She made an effort to reach for her celestial keys.

Apparently one of them noticed, because he suddenly grabbed her keys off of her. Lucy tried to shout something, but a hand covered her mouth. “Hey, these keys are magic right? What can we do with them? Bet they’re worth a lot.” One of them said. The man in front of Lucy stepped even closer. She could feel his breath on her. “I got another question. What should we do with you?” he said. He raised a hand and stroked her hair. She felt fear and anger. She also felt helpless to do anything. Lucy closed her eyes. She heard a thudding noise. The man behind her let her go. She stumbled and fell to her knees. She opened her eyes, and saw her keys falls to the ground, and heard a few more thudding sounds around her. She quickly grabbed her keys and held them tight, prepared to use one of them. She looked up. The two men had been knocked unconscious, and standing in front of her was another man. He was wearing a suit and had orange hair.

“Loke.” Lucy said. She looked up at him. “Hey Lucy. Sorry for the late entrance.” He said. He held a hand out towards her. After a moment, she took his hand and stood up.

“Are you okay?” Loke asked.

“I think so.” She said. She looked at her keys.

“I did say I would come to save you if you needed it.” He told her. Lucy nodded. “You did. Thank you.” She said in a quiet voice. She put her keys away. She looked down at her clothes. They were dirty. She tried to wipe some of the dirt off, then quickly gave up. “Hey Lucy.” Loke said. She looked up at him. “Yeah?”

“Want me to walk you home?” he asked. “Yeah. I’d like that.” She said. They left the alley together. They both began walking towards Lucy’s apartment, side by side. It was only a few blocks away, so it wouldn’t take them long to get there. They walked down the street together at a moderate pace. The street was mostly empty. It was getting colder. Loke looked at Lucy. “Are you cold? Do you want my jacket?” She shook her head. “No thanks.” They walked further.

About a block from the apartment Lucy suddenly said, “Déjà vu.” Loke looked confused. “Huh?” Lucy turned to him. “This happened before. You saving me like this. Not exactly the same, but close. Remember when you saved me from those two creepy mages, back when you were a regular member of Fairy Tail? And then I found out you were a celestial spirit. That blew my mind.”

Loke waited to see if she would continue. He sensed she was waiting for him to respond though. “Yeah, I remember. I guess I’ve always been looking out for you, huh?” He said this playfully, but Lucy looked a little sad. He assumed it was because she was shaken up by what had happened. He decided to try taking her mind off of it. “You know, I notice you call me Loke, but also call me Leo sometimes.” Lucy glanced at him. “Yeah, I guess I do. Its weird. When I first met you, you were Loke. But you’re also Leo the Lion. So, I guess I think of you as both.” She said. Loke nodded.

“I actually prefer Loke. I’ve gotten used to that name.” he said. Lucy showed a small smile. “I’ll try to remember that.” By this point they had made it to the front door of the apartment building. Lucy put a foot on the step. Loke looked around. “Well, I guess you can handle it from here. Just call me if you need me again, Lucy.” To his surprise, Lucy suddenly grabbed his arm. “Wait. Would you mind… staying with me for a little while?” She looked him in the eyes as she said this. Loke was caught off guard. _Maybe she’s more upset about what happened then I thought_ , Loke thought. He smiled at her. “Sure. I’ll stay for a little while. You want me to come in?” Lucy nodded. She let go of his arm. She opened the door, and they walked inside together. Lucy climbed the stairs to her room. As Loke followed her up, it occurred to him that he had never been there before.

Lucy led him into her apartment. He looked around. He looked at her books, and her writing desk. He wasn’t expecting that. He also observed how neat and tidy everything was. _That_ he was expecting. “Hmm.” He said. Lucy turned around. “What is it?” she asked. Loke’s train of thought was broken. “Oh, nothing.” He said dismissively. Lucy shrugged, and went to sit down in a chair. Loke stood there awkwardly, not sure what he was supposed to do. Normally Loke was a pretty confident guy, but he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to handle Lucy in this situation. He wasn’t sure if she was okay or not. Watching him stand there, Lucy patted her hand on a seat next to hers, inviting him to have a seat. He walked over and sat down next to her.

As they sat there, Loke tried to think of something to talk about with her. He mentioned the first thing that came to mind. “So, you like to read, huh?” he said. Lucy looked a little surprised by his question, but then smiled a little. “Yeah. I like reading. And writing. I haven’t been doing much of either lately though. A lot’s been going on.” She said. Loke nodded.

“I hear you. But its good to have a hobby. Can help take your mind off things. Maybe you should try getting back into it, if there’s time.” Lucy appeared to consider this, and said, “Yeah, maybe.” She rested her cheek on her knuckles, and appeared to be thinking of something else. Loke could tell she was distracted, but he still wasn’t sure what to say to her. After a couple minutes he thought of something. But Lucy spoke first.

“So, Loke… Do you have a girlfriend?” she asked. Loke was completely caught off guard by this. “Do I… have a girlfriend?”, he repeated her question.

“Yeah. Are you in a relationship right now?” Lucy persisted. Loke wasn’t expecting this line of questioning from her. But he recovered quickly. “Well you know, Lucy. I’ve always been pretty good with the ladies.” He said, using his old line. Lucy, now sitting straight up, smirked at this. “Yeah, I think you mentioned that once or twice before.” She teased him. “But I’m asking if you’re in a relationship right now.” Her questions continued to confuse him, but he went along with it.

“I’m not seeing anyone exclusively, if that’s what you mean. Why, are you interested in me?” He smiled at her, and gave her a seductive look. He expected her to get embarrassed or annoyed at his comment. Instead she said, “What if I said I was? What would you do?”

“Uh… huh?” Loke said. He wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He wondered if she was testing him in some way. He decided to play along a little further, feeling that it might lighten the mood. “Well… You know Lucy, I am a gentleman. I wouldn’t do anything to upset you. But if you wanted me to spend the night, I wouldn’t say no.” He displayed an impish smirk as he said this. But then, he suddenly felt something on his leg. It was Lucy’s hand.

“In that case, I want you to spend the night… Loke.” As Lucy said this, he felt her hand moving up his leg, closer to his crotch. Lucy was blushing a little, but was making an effort to look him in the eyes. At this point Loke realized she was being serious. He suddenly stood up. “Lucy, what are you doing?” he asked. Lucy looked confused. She stood up too. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Lucy, this isn’t like you. I’ve never heard you talk like this before.” He said. Lucy looked at him, and folded her arms. She didn’t look upset. Loke wasn’t sure what to make of her demeanor. “How would you know? Its not like we’ve spent a lot of time together lately.” She said. Loke considered this.

“True, but in the time we have spent you were never like this.” He said.

“A lot of things have changed since we first met. I guess I’m looking at things differently these days.” She said.

“Yeah, well. I feel like you might be traumatized by what happened earlier, so I don’t want to take advantage.” He said. Lucy put her hands to her sides, and stepped closer to him. “I appreciate that, but that has nothing to do with this. I’ve been thinking about this for a while.”

“You have?” he asked. Lucy stopped to consider her words. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I’m not asking for a relationship. I don’t think I want one right now. I’m just asking for tonight. If you don’t want to though…” she trailed off, appearing insecure. Loke put a hand on her shoulder.

“Lucy, its not that I don’t want to. I just don’t want you to do something that you’re going to regret later.” As he said this, she looked him in the eye. “I won’t regret it. I promise. I want this.” Lucy put her hand on his waist. She moved closer to him, her face close to his. “Do you?” she whispered. Their lips were close. Loke looked at her. He had always thought she was very sexy, and now here she was saying that she wants him. He had tried to be a gentleman, but his resistance had run out. “I do.” He said. Their lips touched. They kissed. Gently at first. Then they kissed again, more passionately. It was slightly awkward since Lucy had never done this before. Loke led.

He grabbed the back of her head and kissed her again, this time using his tongue. Lucy was surprised at first, but then quickly relaxed. She felt his tongue probing around her mouth, moving around her own tongue. He grabbed her with his other hand, and continued moving his tongue deeper into her mouth. Lucy began using her own tongue to reciprocate. She tried copying what he was doing, moving her tongue around inside his mouth, everything soft and wet. After a minute of this, Lucy pulled her face away from his.

“You okay?” Loke asked. Lucy, her face flushed, nodded and said, “Yeah. Just let me… catch my breath.” She was breathing hard. She could feel her heart beating loudly. Loke smirked at her and said, “I never knew you were such a dirty girl.” For a second, Lucy instinctively looked away out of embarrassment. But then she forced herself to look him in the eyes. “Its only my first time. But maybe you could teach me a few things?” she said. Loke smiled wider, showing his teeth. “With pleasure.”

Loke took his jacket off, and then began taking his shirt off. Lucy watched as he undressed. She wanted to keep watching, but then realized she should strip too. She grabbed her top and took it off over her head, dropping it to the floor. She was wearing a pink bra, supporting her large breasts. Lucy then took her skirt and shoes off. By this point she and Loke were both half naked. Lucy wasn’t sure what to do with herself at that point. She felt that she should do something sexy or seductive, but didn’t really know how to do that. She was starting to feel self-conscious.

“You’re beautiful Lucy. You know that?” Loke said. He really did think that. He looked at her standing there a few feet from him. He never expected this night to end like this. Lucy stepped towards him, stopping right in front of him. She put a hand on his chest. “Thank you. I never said it before, but I always thought you were really hot.” She rubbed his chest with her hand, moving up and down. He had expected her to get embarrassed again after what he said, and what she said too. But she didn’t appear to be. Right now, she was focusing on him.

Loke put his arms around her and started kissing her neck. Lucy breathed heavily. She put her hands on his arms. She spoke softly, “Loke. Will you still be here in the morning?” He stopped kissing her and looked her in the face. “Do you want me to be?” he asked.

“I’d like that, yes.” She said.

“Then yes, I will.” He replied. Their lips met again, and they held each other.

***  
Back at the Fairy Tail guild, Levy had just finished cleaning up the notes. She left a few out for easy access later, but she knew she would be using different sources for the next stage of research. She hoped that all of this studying would pay off, and that they can find the information they’re looking for soon. As much as Levy likes reading, she does have other things to do. And she knows Lucy is getting tired of this too.

“I wonder what she’s doing right now?” Levy mused to herself. _Knowing her, she probably just went straight home and fell asleep. So predictable._ Levy thought this to herself, and chuckled. She finished up her cleaning. “Good enough.” She said. She stretched her arms. Levy was starting to feel tired too, and wouldn’t mind going home. But she knew that she was still supposed to talk to Mystogan. She didn’t know what to expect as far as that’s concerned. She wasn’t afraid of him. No one at Fairy Tail considered him a threat, despite his resemblance to Jellal. He had helped them numerous times in the past, including very recently. And the Jellal they knew was dead and gone. Besides, Makarov said to trust him, and Levy trusts Makarov’s instinct.

Levy picked up a pen and paper, since she would probably need to take some notes while talking with Mystogan. She left the room and went back into the main hall, which was now empty except for her. She wasn’t used to it being so quiet and lonely here. Not too long ago, this guild would always have at least a few people around even into the late hours. But the guild had lost a number of mages. There were the deaths like Erza and Nab. Levy wasn’t there for Erza’s death, but saw Nab killed. She covered her eyes before the worst of it though. She tries not to think about it. There was also Laxus’ expulsion. But some people also left for other reasons. Recently some people have been quitting the guild due to the guild’s loss of standing, and the seeming increase in danger and risk in being part of this guild. Many of those who left were no-names that wouldn’t be terribly missed. But there was also Natsu. His departure really surprised Levy. She had assumed he was part of Fairy Tail for life. Levy still didn’t really know why he left. She had tried asking Lucy about it once, but even she seemed to be at a loss. Levy sighed.

Levy shook her head. _I can’t get distracted with this stuff, I still have work to do_ , she thought. She headed over to where Mystogan was staying. It was a room off to the side of the main hall. It was usually used for storage, but there was enough room for someone to stay in it. They even found a cot for him to sleep on. They had offered to try to find a better room for him, but he said it was fine.

Levy walked up to the door and knocked on it. She waited a moment. “Hello? Its me, Levy McGarden. Are you ready to talk?” She stood at the door. She started wondering if maybe he was asleep. Then she heard, “Come in.” She opened the door and stepped inside. Mystogan, currently unmasked, was sitting on the cot on the right side of the room. There were chests and crates in other parts of the room, some of which were currently being used as furniture. Mystogan had four of his staves standing against a couple chests stacked together. There was also a canvas chair a few feet from the cot.

“Levy Mcgarden. You’re here to interrogate me, correct?” Mystogan said. Levy raised her eyebrows. “Interrogate you? I wouldn’t put it like that. Its not like you’re a prisoner or anything. And you don’t have to be so formal. You can just call me Levy.” Mystogan considered this, and nodded slowly. Then he said, “Please, have a seat.” He indicated the canvas chair for her. Levy walked over and sat down on it.

Levy readied her notes for writing. But then something occurred to her. “Oh, what should I call you? Is Mystogan your real name? You look a lot like Jellal Fernandes. But I’m guessing your name isn’t actually Jellal…” Levy said, waiting for a reply.

“Actually, my real name is Jellal. But if it makes you more comfortable to call me Mystogan, then that’s fine.” He explained. “Hmm.” Levy muttered. Levy wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He did look very much like Jellal Fernandes. He even had the same red mark on his face. It was uncanny. She had never actually met the man. But she had seen pictures of him (when he was pretending to be Seigrain), and had heard a lot about him. Of course, he was also the one responsible for the Tower of Heaven, which, among other things, led to Erza’s death. Because of this, she felt it would be kind of awkward to call the man in front of her Jellal. And she knew that was probably why he chose to hide his identity. On the other hand, she thought it might also be a little weird to call him by his alias now that she knew his real name. She decided she would just have to wing it.

“So, Mystogan.” She began awkwardly. _Guess I’m going with that_. She thought to herself. He didn’t say anything though. He just kept looking at her with the same serious expression. “So, before we get to the heavy stuff, I want to know a few things; who are you really? Where are you from? And why do you look like ‘you know who’?” She asked. Mystogan put his hands on his knees and looked at the floor. Levy wondered if he was bothered by one of her questions, or just collecting his thoughts. Then, he spoke.

“I am originally from another world. It is called Edolas, just as this world is called Earth Land. It is a parallel world to this one. There are many things in that world that are similar to this world, yet also very different. For example, there is a guild called Fairy Tail in Edolas as well.” This surprised Levy.

“Really? Are there any people there who look like the members of this Fairy Tail?” she asked. Mystogan shrugged his shoulders.

“Its possible, but I can’t say for sure. I never met them, and I left Edolas when I was very young. After coming to this world, I became aware of your Jellal, and his infamy. I decided it would be best to hide my face, and take a new name. I became Mystogan.” As he explained all of this, Levy was writing this down. “Very interesting. And kind of cool. You must have had an exciting life.” She said with some enthusiasm. Mystogan looked at her with a hint of sadness. “I suppose you could say that. I have seen and done many things. However…” Levy raised an eyebrow. “However?”

Mystogan looked unsure if he should continue or not. But he went on. “Its also been a lonely life. I’ve had very few friends. And many enemies. And I can never let myself be seen in public. And its possible I’ll never see my own world again. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not asking for pity. I just don’t want to you to think my life has been fun or romantic.” During this speech, his voice had become a little more emotional, but he quickly composed himself.

“Oh. I see.” Levy said quietly. She wasn’t expecting what he just said. She had wanted to ask him how he came to this world in the first place. But now she felt that it might be a little too personal to ask that right now. Maybe another time. She decided to change the subject a little. Levy cleared her throat, and Mystogan turned his head towards her.

“If you don’t mind me asking… Are you a mage? You use those staves over there for magic, but do you have any innate magical ability? I ask because, well. That girl, during the battle, she said you’re not a mage. Didn’t she?” Levy was aware that she sounded a little awkward asking these questions. Normally she wasn’t awkward, but for some reason she found it harder to talk to him than most people. Not that he wasn’t conversational. There was just something about him that put her a little off balance. She decided that it must be because of his resemblance to Jellal.

“You’re correct. I’m not a mage. Not really. No one in my world has innate magical ability. At least, no one human.” Levy wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but decided to let it go so he could continue. “I can use those staves to perform great magical feats. They are imbued with magic. Although, I seem to be missing one. The point is, I cannot perform magic like you can. For that matter, neither can the little girl, or her family, or that samurai.”

“Are you saying they aren’t mages either?” Levy asked. Mystogan shook his head. “From what I’ve seen, they are mages, but their power works differently. They require rituals, markings, totems.” Levy wrote this information down, and then looked up at him. “How do you know these things?” she asked.

“I’ve been able to follow them sometimes. I’m very good at not being seen when I don’t want to be. However, I still try to maintain a distance. I suspect there are a few of them that could detect me.”

Levy listened to him. But she felt they still needed more information. “Is there anything else you can tell me about them? Where they’re from, what they’re called?” Mystogan looked downwards, pondering her question. “I don’t know any name for them as a whole. As for where they’re from, I can’t say for sure, but I strongly suspect that they’re from Bosco. Or at least, that’s where many of their activities seem to be. At one point I managed to follow them to the border. That was where they went, and where more of them came from.”

Levy tapped her chin with the pen. “Hmm. Well, that’s helpful, I think. Although, we did research dark guilds in Bosco and didn’t find anything.”

“I don’t think they’re a magic guild. I’ve seen many non-mage followers with them. As for what they _are_ , I’m afraid I can’t say. Now, there’s only one more piece of information that I can give you. From what I’ve heard they appear to have four leaders. You already know of Boudica and Yoshimoto. There’s another one named Arnok. I don’t know the name of the fourth. And that’s all.” Mystogan finished speaking. Levy put down her pen.

“There’s no other information you can give us? Even some small detail you forgot to mention?” Levy asked. Mystogan looked thoughtful. “I’m sorry. That’s all I know. But if I remember anything else, I’ll let you know.” Levy nodded, slightly disappointed.

“Alright. I appreciate the help, and I’m sure the master will too. I’m sure he would have liked to question you himself, but he’s at the magic council right now.” Levy stood up, and prepared to leave. But then she remembered something. “You know, there actually was one other thing I wanted to ask you. But it’s a little more personal.” Mystogan raised an eyebrow. “What is it?” he asked.

At this point Levy’s gaze trailed off to the right with a thoughtful expression. She looked as if she was trying to recall something clearly. She then said, “Remember the other day, when that big attack on the guild happened? Well, of course you remember, how could you forget? Let me start over.” Levy took a breath, and tried again. Mystogan sat there waiting for her to continue.

“When Raven Tail showed up, that woman, Flare, held me hostage. She was threatening my life. It was… pretty scary. But then, there was a magic blast that knocked her off balance, and saved me. I don’t know what might have happened if it wasn’t for that. So, my question is: was that you? Were you the one who saved me?” Levy watched him, awaiting his response. Mystogan slowly stood up.

“Yes, it was me. How did you know?” he asked. Levy smiled. “I’m good at recognizing which magic is used by which mage. I’ve only briefly seen your magic before, but it seemed similar. I didn’t know for sure though. Anyway, thank you. I really appreciate you doing that.” Mystogan gave a slight shrug. “I would have done the same thing if anyone else had been in your situation.” He said. To his surprise, Levy put a hand on his shoulder.

“That means you’re a good guy, and we were right to trust you.” Mystogan didn’t know how to respond, so he said nothing. Levy removed her hand, and said, “So anyway, I’ll be sure to tell the master about all of this tomorrow. And maybe some of this info will help us find what we’re looking for. Thanks again for helping with this, and for saving me.” Mystogan nodded. “You’re welcome, Levy McGarden.” He said. Levy smirked and held up a finger. “Now, what did I say earlier about being so formal?” she said teasingly.

“Ah… Levy, I mean.” He corrected. Levy nodded once. “There you go.” She said. Levy realized that in the short time she had spoken with him she had already gotten more comfortable around him. She was nervous at the start, but she felt that she could trust him now. “Well, I’ll see you later…” she began.

“As I said, I’m fine with either Mystogan or Jellal.” He said.

“Hmm. I’ll stick with Mystogan for now. It doesn’t bother me, but other people might still have an issue with the name Jellal.” Levy said.

“I understand.” Mystogan replied. Levy turned and opened the door to leave. But then she paused and turned back. “Will you still be here tomorrow?” she asked.

“I doubt it.” Mystogan said. Levy looked at him for a moment. “Alright, but don’t be a stranger. We know who you are now, so you don’t need to hide all the time. Besides, we could really use your help.” She said.

“I’ll think about it.” He replied. Levy nodded once more, and left, leaving Mystogan alone. He sat back down on the cot, and reflected on her words.

***  
While Mystogan and Levy were talking on the first floor, another scene was playing out on the second floor of the guild. Juvia Lockser was standing in a corridor overlooking the first floor of the guild. She was standing outside of a room, waiting for something. Or rather, someone. Gray Fullbuster was in that room. He had said he wanted some time to himself. Juvia respected his wish, and left him alone. However, she also wanted to talk to him very badly, and had decided to wait for him to come out. She had been waiting for a while, and was growing impatient. There was something important she wanted to say to him, and she decided that it couldn’t wait another day. Tonight would be the night.

Juvia paced back and forth. She wasn’t normally the nervous type, but she was feeling very anxious about this. Her palms were sweating. She had briefly considered getting a drink to calm herself down, but she knew she had to be sober for this. Besides, she didn’t want to risk missing Gray. She decided to start breathing deeply to relax herself. After several breaths, she felt her heart beat slow down to a normal rate. “I can do this.” She whispered to herself.

Juvia faced the door, waiting for Gray. She could hear some noise inside. She hoped that he would come out shortly. _I need to tell him how I really feel. I need to tell him that I love him. But more importantly, I need to hear him say it to me. Just three words._ Juvia thought this, and knew that if he reciprocated her feelings, then that would make her happier than anything in the world.

Juvia heard the door click. It opened, and Gray stepped out. He was more heavily dressed than normal. He was wearing a shirt and jacket, presumably because it was cold out. Which meant he was probably about to leave. Juvia stepped forward to stop him, and when he saw her, he groaned. Undeterred, Juvia said, “Gray, I want to speak with you. Right now.”

“Not now Juvia.” Gray said. He started to walk away, but she grabbed his arm. “Gray please, its important. You said we could talk when we got back from the Oracion Seis mission. Its been days since then. Its time.” Gray lowered his head and closed his eyes. “Juvia, with everything that’s going on right now, this isn’t a good time.” He said.

“There’s never a good time. Its one crisis after another. That’s why its important we talk about this now. I… I remember what the master said the other day about how if there’s something we need to do, we should do it now, because anything could happen tomorrow. And that’s why I have to tell you how I feel now. Because there might not be a chance later.” Juvia sounded earnest, but Gray was much less emotional.

“There will be more chances later Juvia, trust me.” He said wearily. But Juvia persisted. “But you don’t know that! We’ve seen so much loss. If there’s even a chance that something could happen before I get a chance to tell you…” Juvia paused. Gray looked uncomfortable.

“Please. Listen to me. Just hear what I have to say.” She put her hands together and looked at him, eyes full of emotion. Gray sighed and said, “Okay, fine. I’ll hear what you have to say. So, what do you want to say to me, Juvia?”

Juvia took a breath. _Okay. This it. Here’s goes nothing_.

***  
Gray stood there waiting for Juvia to begin her profession of love for him. Because he knew that’s what it was going to be. He had been very well aware of her feelings for a while now. He had tried to ignore it. Brush her off. But she was very persistent. Too persistent. There was a part of him that was flattered by it. But there was another part of him that found it annoying, and kind of creepy. Its not that he disliked her. But he knew that he didn’t feel the same way about her that she felt about him. Not even close.

At first, he had put up with it. It was annoying, but it didn’t bother him too much. But then Erza died, and the Fantasia incident happened, and Natsu took off. Ever since then it seems like nothing has been right. Its left Gray feeling frustrated and angry. Like everything has been turned upside down. Since then he’s been trying to find a way to make sense of it. But then this recent incident happened, and its even worse now. He figured that Juvia would understand this, and back off. And for a brief time, she did. But now, she’s redoubled her efforts. She’s become very persistent, even more than before. He doesn’t want to hurt her, but if she insists on forcing the issue then he’s just going to have to tell her the truth. This is what he decided.

Juvia began to speak. “Gray… We’ve known each other for several months now. Not that long, but it feels a lot longer. For a long time, I was alone, and unhappy. But then I met you. From the moment I met you, everything changed. I knew you were special. It was love at first sight. I knew I had to be with you. That’s why I joined Fairy Tail. I’ve come to appreciate the rest of the guild too, but you were always the most important to me. I…” Juvia paused. Gray stood there with his arms folded, not saying anything. He felt increasingly uncomfortable, but knew he had to do this now. Juvia continued her monologue.

“Gray, I… I’m just going to say it. Maybe I should have said it sooner. So…” Juvia took a breath. “Gray Fullbuster, I love you. Actually, its more than that. I’m in love with you. Deeply, madly in love. I want to be with you, and marry you, and have your children.” Juvia kept going on, as if a flood gate had been opened, and it couldn’t be closed now. She continued. “This is how I really feel about you. But now I need to know… how do you feel about me?” Gray stood there, taken aback. He wasn’t expecting quite that much. Now he had to respond. _Shit. This is going to be harder than I thought_ , he thought to himself. Gray tried to choose his words carefully.

“Juvia… That’s a hell of a lot to take in.” he said. Juvia just stood there, looking at him expectantly. He continued. “You obviously feel pretty strongly about this. Really, really strongly. So, I guess its my turn now.” He wanted to come up with some excuse to leave, but he couldn’t do that now. Not after everything she just said. He just had to make it through. “Juvia… I’m sorry, but I don’t feel the same way.”

***  
Juvia froze. She heard him say it. But she didn’t want to believe it. _He can’t mean that_ , she thought. “But, you do love me Gray. Maybe not as much as I love you, but you do want to be with me, right? I know you do.” She said. Gray shook his head. “No Juvia, I don’t. I respect you. I even like you, as a friend and guildmate. But I don’t love you. Sorry.” He tried to put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, but she brushed it off.

“Why are you lying? Just tell me the truth. You don’t have to hide your feelings. Just be honest.” She looked him in the eye, looking for a sign of love, but he was starting to look annoyed.

“I am being honest. Look, I’m trying not to upset you here but… Juvia, you need to get over this. Get over me. Its not meant to be. I’m sorry.” He sighed and hung his head. Juvia felt a pain in her chest. She also felt warm water on her face. _How can this be?_ “You don’t mean it you don’t mean it you don’t mean it…” she kept repeating in a shaky voice.

***  
Gray watched as Juvia appeared to be having a breakdown in front of him. This is worse than he thought. He didn’t know what to say. At that moment he felt a mixture of guilt, annoyance, and exhaustion. “Damn it, I didn’t ask for this.” He meant to only think it, but he ended up saying it out loud. She stopped repeating herself and looked at him. “Look Juvia, this isn’t healthy. I don’t know why you’re so hung up on me, but this needs to stop. I mean, sometimes you just creep me out with the way you act.” He had started raising his voice, which he hadn’t intended. He also immediately knew he shouldn’t have said that last part.

Juvia looked at Gray with glistening eyes. “Juvia…” he started to say. But she cut him off. “Its fine. Its fine, Gray. I asked you how you felt about me, and now I know. That’s good. That’s fine. I hope you find someone that will make you happy.” She sounded calm and steady as she said this, except for the last part where her voice hitched a little. She turned to walk away.

“Juvia, hold on.” Gray said. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to say, but it seemed like he should say something. He couldn’t just let her leave like this, could he? But Juvia kept walking. “Its fine. I’m fine. Good night.” She said, as she walked down the stairs to the first floor. Gray followed her. As they got to the bottom of the stairs, Juvia started walking towards the front door. Gray moved to stop her, but he bumped into something, or rather someone. Gray lost his balance and fell. He looked to see who he ran into. It was Levy. She had dropped some papers after their collision. “Gray?” Levy said. Gray grunted, and got to his feet. He went to pick up her papers, but she was already doing it. He looked back towards Juvia, but she had already left.

“Gray, what happened? Was Juvia crying?” Levy asked, now standing, and holding her papers. Gray looked back at her. “Yeah, well. Its not the end of the world. She’ll get over it.” Levy leveled an accusatory look at Gray, and put her hands on her hips. “She’ll get over it? Gray Fullbuster, what did you do?” This made Gray feel defensive, and a little annoyed. “Hey, drop the mom act. It wasn’t my fault. She asked me… you know what, forget it. Its none of your business.” Gray turned to walk away, going towards the same door Juvia just left. “Hey!” Levy called from behind. But Gray ignored her and kept walking. He walked out the door and shut it behind him, leaving Levy there in the hall by herself.

***  
Far away, Lisanna Strauss lay on her bed in the grey building. She had lain there for the past half hour, unable to sleep. She felt restless. She was thinking about her old life, and her half-remembered friends and family. Mirajane, Elfman, Fairy Tail. A mixture of sweet and bitter memories. Sometimes she had dreams about them. And sometimes nightmares. She wasn’t sure if any of the dreams were actually memories, or just fantasy. That’s another reason she couldn’t sleep. She was afraid of another nightmare.

After staring at the ceiling for a while, Lisanna sat up in bed. She felt like she wanted to go somewhere, but where was there to go? Besides, the others don’t like her wandering around unescorted. They tell her its for her own good. They say there are some things she doesn’t understand yet, and not everyone fully trusts her. So, she should be patient. She tries her best to comply.

As she sits there contemplating all this, she hears something outside her door. She listens, and hears something touching the wooden door. She then hears s metallic sound. She gets up, and walks towards the door. She isn’t afraid, just curious. She opens the door, and finds someone standing there. It’s a young man with pale skin, and hair as white as her own. She knows him. His name is Alrace. He is an albino, a few years older than her, he performs cleaning and maintenance in this building. In other words, he is a janitor.

“Hello Alrace.” She says. She’s spoken to him a few times. Not a friend exactly, but an acquaintance. For his part, he appears surprised to see her. “Miss Strauss, I thought you were asleep. Did I wake you up?” he asks. He spoke with a speech impediment. Besides being an albino,, he seemed to have a number of physical defects, such as walking with a slight limp. In response to his question, Lisanna shook her head. “No, I was already awake. I couldn’t sleep.” She said. He nodded. There was an awkward silence for a minute. Finally Alrace spoke. “Well, I was just tightening a bolt on the door. But it can wait until the morning.” He bowed and turned.

“Wait, before you go…” Lisanna said. He turned. She continued, “I just wanted to ask if you’ve seen Natsu. I haven’t seen him in days.” she said. The young man tilted his head. “Natsu. He’s your friend. I don’t know what they have in mind. But…” He paused. “Maybe I could take you to him now. I think I know where he is.” Lisanna’s eyes lit up.

“Really? You can take me to him? Are you sure?” He paused, and then nodded. She hadn’t known the albino that long, but she didn’t see any reason why he would lie about this. And she didn’t feel threatened by him. But she was still curious. “Why do this for me?” She said. His expression was hard to read. “I like you. And you seem sad.” he said softly.

“I’m not sad.” Lisanna said. Alrace shrugged. “If you say so.” She wasn’t sure why he said that, but she knew she wanted to see Natsu. He motioned her to follow him. He walked down the corridor, and she followed closely. They turned down another corridor, and then down a flight of stairs to the first floor. They entered a larger room. There were a few people in there. Alrace indicated for her to be quiet so they wouldn’t be noticed. He stuck to the wall where it was dimly lit, and she followed. They turned down another passage, and came to a door. They stopped. It was a metal door, with a sliding metal plate for viewing. “Here it is.” He said. He stepped aside.

Lisanna walked up to the door, and cautiously moved the plate to see inside. Inside was a large room, but sparsely decorated. There were a few people inside. There were two wearing robes. There was another man with a leathery mask with white eyes. Lisanna knew him. He was Torc. She had heard his magic was “empathic”, but she wasn’t sure what that meant. Oddly, he never seemed to talk, and she never saw him without his mask. But there was someone else in the room that Lisanna was more focused on. His back was to the door, so she couldn’t see his face. But still recognized him from behind. It was Natsu. Lisanna leaned in closer. He was shirtless, and sweaty. He had a somewhat muscular physique, and looked powerful. Right now, he was standing there looking tense. She wanted to say something to him, but couldn’t because of the others.

Natsu was clenching his fists. A power was emanating from him. Lisanna realized that he was powering up. But why? As she watched, she saw his power grow. Flames began to swirl around him, and the others in the room took a few steps back. Natsu began vocalizing his power. Lisanna vaguely remembered him doing something like this before, in their old life together. But seeing it now, up close, left her in awe. The flames grew larger, and began spreading across the room. The others in the room backed up further, almost to the wall. Natsu’s flames pushed out, and then seemed to press up against some kind of magical barrier protecting the others. The fire became blinding. And then a voice managed to cut through it all. “That’s enough, Natsu.” A voice said calmly but loudly.

Lisanna initially couldn’t see who said that. But as Natsu’s flames died down, she saw a figure step out from one end of the room. It was Boudica. Natsu stood there, but didn’t turn his head. “You’re making a lot of progress. You’ve regained much of your power, and maybe even a little more.” She said. But Natsu looked winded. Lisanna didn’t know what was going on. She impulsively whispered his name. “Natsu.”

Suddenly, Natsu turned to her direction. He saw her. _Did he hear me?_ Lisanna thought. Torc followed Natsu’s gaze, and he probably saw her too. Lisanna backed up a step from the door, but Natsu rushed over. “Lisanna. Why are you here?” he said. He sounded weary. Lisanna’s expression changed to one of concern.

“Natsu, what’s going on? Are you hurt?” she said. Natsu was about to say something, but he was cut off by Boudica behind him. “Natsu. Remember why we’re doing this. Remember Erza. I need you to cooperate.” She said this calmly but firmly. _Erza?_ That name was familiar to Lisanna, but she couldn’t put a face to it. Natsu’s expression hardened as he still faced Lizanna. “You should leave. You shouldn’t be here. Just...”

“Natsu, I miss you. I want to talk to you. I want to see you.” Lisanna said earnestly. She held a hand up to the slat in the door. Natsu’s expression softened again. He held up a hand on the other side of the door. But then, Natsu’s face changed. His eyes changed color. They turned a reddish color, and began to glow. Natsu bared his teeth. Lisanna blinked. “Natsu?” was all she could think to say. Natsu slammed against the door, startling her. She stepped back. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned. It was Nikodias. “Miss Strauss.” He said. He closed the slat with his other hand. “You shouldn’t be here.”

 _When did he get here?_ She thought. She looked over at Alrace. He was leaning against the wall, watching them. He appeared abashed, but said nothing. Nikodias looked at Lisanna. “Neither of you are supposed to be here right now. This… this isn’t safe. I know you don’t understand, but we are trying to help Natsu. He’s not well. You saw him, right? Your presence will only aggravate things right now.”

Lisanna bit her lip. “But why? What’s wrong with him?” Nikodias shook his head. “It took a lot out of him to help revive you. He needs time to recover, assuming he can. But he doesn’t need emotional triggers right now. That will make it worse.” Lisanna nodded, though she didn’t fully understand.

At that moment, the door opened. A feeling of power flowed out of it, with a bright light. But instead of Natsu, Boudica stepped out. Her eyes were glowing gold. “He’s better now.” She said. Her eyes gradually returned to normal. She shut the door behind her, and looked at Lisanna. “Lisanna. I assume Nikodias explained that you shouldn’t be here?” Lisanna looked at Boudica. “Yeah, he did. But I just wanted to see Natsu. I don’t know if I can help him or not. Maybe if I knew more, I would understand.” Lisanna said, looking straight at Boudica. Normally Lisanna was more meek, but for some reason she felt more defiant right then. Boudica raised an eyebrow. At first, she said nothing, and just stood there. But then, she looked as if she had decided something, and smiled a little at Lisanna. “Hmmm. Alright. Maybe you have a point. We should tell you what’s really at stake with Natsu, and then maybe you’ll understand. In fact, we can talk about this tonight if you want.” Lisanna was surprised by this, but agreed to it. She wanted to help Natsu, and she wanted answers.

“Alright then. You can wait in the southern chamber for me, and I’ll be with you after I’m finished here. In fact, Alrace here can wait with you there.” Boudica explained. Alrace looked up in surprise. “You want me there too?” he asked. Boudica smiled. “I do. I think you both should hear what I’m going to say so you know why its important to listen to me. I’ll make it all crystal clear.” Everyone agreed to this, and Boudica returned to the large room, closing the door. Nikodias led the two of them off to the southern chamber where they would await Boudica. Lisanna, for her part, wasn’t sure what to expect.


	16. Lisanna's Story

Lisanna sat in a chamber in a different part of the building. It was a large room, and within that room was what Nikodias had called a waiting area. If someone else saw the waiting area they might describe it as a large cage, similar to a jail cell, only more spacious and better furnished. Lisanna sat here, waiting for Boudica like she said she would. But she was not alone. Her acquaintance Alrace was there with her. Lisanna wasn’t sure why he had been told to wait there with her. Maybe because he wasn’t supposed to take her to see Natsu the way he did. She still wasn’t sure why he did that. She was grateful, but she sensed that Boudica was displeased with him.

As Lisanna sat in the “waiting area”, she looked around. It was a dark room, although there was a lantern hanging from the roof above them, so the immediate vicinity was clearly visible. The door to the area/cage was open. However, there were two large, cloaked figures at the door, like the ones that had watched over Lisanna in the garden before. She still didn’t know exactly who or what they were, other than they were some kind of servants/guards. Normally she felt comfortable enough at this place. But their presence made her uneasy. As usual, she tried to ignore them. She was sitting on a bench just a few feet away from Alrace the albino. They both waited anxiously.

They sat there for a while before Nikodias told them that Boudica would be longer than expected. He went off leaving them alone again. With nothing to do, Lisanna just sat there looking down at her hands. Her hands which weren’t really hers. That’s how she felt. They were the hands of a monster. Almost more like claws. She flexed her fingers. They still moved normally, but they were definitely inhuman.

“Does it bother you?” Alrace said suddenly. Lisanna, startled by his question, looked up at him. “Does what bother me?” she asked. He gestured to her hands. She looked back down at them as well. She closed them into fists, and sat there silently for a minute. Alrace waited until she answered.

“Its not something I would have chosen for myself. They look…” Lisanna searched for a word in her vocabulary. “…Grotesque. They look grotesque.” Alrace tilted his head. “I don’t think they look so bad. I’ve seen worse.”

Lisanna didn’t raise her eyes to him. She continued. “Well, either way, the thing that really bothers me about them isn’t that they’re ugly. Its that they remind me that I died. I shouldn’t even be here right now. I should be dead. I was dead. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to be alive. But nothing feels right. There’s something wrong with Natsu. There are so many things I can’t remember. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to go home again. And I’m not sure if I want to.” Lisanna realized she was rambling and looked at Alrace, seeing how he might respond to this, but he just stared with a quizzical look on his face, as if he wasn’t sure how to react. Lisanna didn’t know why she said that to him. She didn’t know him that well, though she thought he seemed nice enough. And he did go to the trouble of bringing her to Natsu.

“Can I ask you a question? A personal question?” he said suddenly. Lisanna sat there and thought about this. Then she said, “Okay. I guess that’s alright.” Alrace asked the question bluntly.

“What is your happiest memory?” he asked her. This surprised her. “My happiest memory?” she repeated. He nodded.

“You say you don’t remember much. But what memory makes you most happy that you can remember? You seem sad, so I was curious if you remember happy things.” He sounded like he struggled to say this, as if he had difficulty articulating it. Lisanna didn’t think of herself as sad, but he seemed to think she was. _Maybe its because I’ve been worrying about Natsu_ , she thought.

“My sister, and Natsu. They’re my happiest memories.” Lisanna answered his question. Again, Lisanna wasn’t sure why she was sharing these things with him so readily. Maybe she was just trying to pass the time somehow until Boudica showed up. Or maybe there was something about him she trusted.

“Why do they make you happy?” he asked her. Lisanna smiled sadly. “I Have more memories of them than anything else. Strong memories. Mirajane, my sister, always watched out for me and my brother Elfman (I don’t remember Elfman so well). She was so strong and brave. But she could also be sweet and caring too. There was a time when it was just the three of us. She made sure we survived. Funny thing is, she was actually afraid that she might be a monster because of her magic. She had trouble controlling it, and she wasn’t sure that she was human. For her, it turned out to not be true. For me though…” she said, as she looked at her hand again. Alrace tilted his head again.

“Maybe it’s the same for you then? Maybe you can change back?” he said. Lisanna shook her head. “No. This is permanent. I’ve looked like this all these months. Besides, Boudica told me that this was the price to pay for me being alive again.” Lisanna fell silent. She tried not to dwell on these things. It seemed morbid to her. But there was a part of her that wanted to talk about it with someone. The only person she had really talked at all about these things with was Boudica, and even with her Lisanna was reluctant. Lisanna felt grateful to Boudica for helping her, but it was obvious that Boudica was hiding something from her. Maybe that would change tonight.

A few more minutes passed in silence, and then Alrace spoke again. “Can I ask you another question, Lisanna?” Lisanna knew he was probably going to ask another personal question. She decided to go along with it. “Okay.” She said.

“I’m just curious. Do you remember how you were brought back? What was it like? Was there an afterlife? And what was it like when you returned?” He looked worn and hurt despite being fairly young. But when he asked these questions, he sounded almost like a child asking their parent about how things work. Lisanna found his earnest demeanor disarming. She resolved to answer him. She had been thinking about this for a while, but hadn’t really spoken about it before. She realized that she wanted to talk about it with someone.

“Alright. I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you what happened from the moment I died, and after that.” Lisanna closed her eyes as she said this, so she didn’t see his reaction. But he didn’t say anything, and silently waited for her to begin. And then, she spoke.

“I remember how I died. Its one of my strongest memories in fact.”

***  
I died a few years ago. Or at least that’s what I’m told. To me, it doesn’t seem that long ago. But its hard for me to say what happened and when. I… think I was on a job with my siblings. Mirajane, Elfman. Mirajane looked cool and tough. I remember she liked fighting, and wearing revealing clothes. Elfman… I don’t remember as much about him. I think he was more quiet. But when I think about him, I get this bad feeling. I don’t know if he was really a bad person, but when I try to remember stuff about him, I just get this creepy feeling. I can’t explain it. But I remember what he did that day.

I don’t remember all the details, but Elfman changed his form. That’s his power. All three of us could change in different ways. Its called takeover magic. People said Mirajane was a monster. But Elfman was on a different level. When he changed, he was huge and ferocious looking. And he was horribly strong, too. He changed into his monster form that day, and… he became violent. Was he normally like that? I’m not sure. I think he hurt Mirajane, and I got between them. I couldn’t stop him of course. I wasn’t strong enough. But I guess I thought I might be able to reason with him. But I couldn’t. Honestly, even talking about this right now, that creepy feeling is coming back.

Anyway, I stood there in front of him. And I remember feeling afraid, but… not for myself? At any rate, he swung his huge monster claw at me. I vaguely remember it hurting. And then I hit the ground. I couldn’t move. I heard Mirajane screaming. Everything was going dark. I remember thinking that I wasn’t ready. But I guess death doesn’t care if you’re ready or not. That was the end for me. Or so I thought.

***  
Its kind of weird for me to talk about this next part. I mean, when you die that’s supposed to be it. At least, that’s what I always thought. I’ve never thought that much about an afterlife or anything. Even now, I’m still not really sure if there’s a heaven or hell. But I’ll try to explain what happened to me as best I can. Bear with me.

I’ve heard some people say that dying is like going to sleep. Well, that’s kind of what it felt like. Except this was a lot scarier, because I didn’t think I’d wake up. But I did. Not with my siblings around me though. Not at the place I died. In fact, I don’t think it was anywhere in the mortal world.

It was dark. Like I was surrounded by blackness, and nothingness. Not only that, but I didn’t have a body either. Its like I was this… entity. Floating, and drifting. I didn’t know where I was. And I didn’t know where I was going. It sounds like I should have been scared, but strangely I wasn’t. I felt confused, but calm.

I drifted like that for a while. Sometimes there was some light that broke through the blackness. Not bright white light, but more grey, like a cloudy day, or yellow like a distant sun. I know this all sounds really strange. I’m not sure how much of this I clearly remember. I’m not even a hundred percent sure that I didn’t just dream this. I’d probably think it all was a dream if it weren’t for what happened next.

I’m not sure how long I was like that. Days? Months? Years? I vaguely remembered my old life. But it was hazy and jumbled. I sometimes thought about Mirajane. The last time I saw her. And I missed her. And Fairy Tail. It was the one strong emotion I felt. At one point, as I was thinking about this, it happened. I heard a voice saying something. It was distant. It was a girl’s voice, but I didn’t recognize it. At first, I couldn’t understand what she was saying. But after a short time, her voice got louder, and I heard her say a name. “Lisanna”, it said. Lisanna? For a moment I was confused. But then I realized that was my name. Someone was calling to me.

I stopped drifting, and listened. I was curious. “Lisanna Strauss? Is that you? Can you hear me?” I listened to the voice calling to me. I realized it sounded pretty young. Maybe a kid. I wasn’t sure that I could answer back. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to. “Lisanna. Say something…” it said again. It sounded like it was going in and out. I didn’t know what was going on. Some time passed, and I started to move away, but then something happened again.

“Lisanna.” This time, it was a different voice. Still female, but older. I paused. Suddenly, I noticed a golden light. Not like before. This was different. It almost had a shape, and it was slowly coming towards me. “ **We found you.** ” It said in a powerful voice. The golden shape grew something out of itself. It looked almost like a giant hand. The “hand” stretched out like it was reaching towards me. For the first time since I came to that place, I was afraid. I tried to move away from it. But it came closer.

Suddenly, I felt something else behind me. Another light, this one more of a bluish color. It moved closer. It didn’t say anything, but it gave off this force of energy. It made me shudder. Well, I didn’t have a body, so I guess I didn’t technically shudder. But it was something like that. Anyway, golden shape stopped, and backed off a little. Was it afraid? I don’t know. I just sat there in between them. Then the golden shape spoke again. “Lisanna, listen to me. I’m here to help you. I want to take you back.” I didn’t know what it meant.

“Take me back?” I spoke. Apparently, I could do that. It sounded like an echo of my voice though.

“Yes. I can take you back to your life. Back to the world you lived in. Back to Natsu. He misses you.” When it mentioned Natsu, I felt something. A rush of emotions. Happiness. Sadness. Longing. I remembered Natsu. I wanted to see him again. But… I wasn’t sure that I could trust this being, whatever it was. And I wasn’t sure that I belonged in my old life anymore. I had this feeling that I wasn’t supposed to be there anymore. I didn’t know what to do. The other being behind me shifted. It didn’t say anything, but I sensed its feelings. It didn’t want me to trust the golden shape. I sensed… not hatred, but something else. Definitely not positive.

“You can see Mirajane again too. Your sister.” _My sister?_

“And Fairy Tail. You can be with all of them again. All you have to do is trust me. Come with me, Lisanna.” _Natsu. Mirajane. Fairy Tail._ I thought about all of these things, and sweet memories came back to me. Like looking at old photographs. It made me feel Nostalgic. And homesick. Somehow, I felt like there were tears on my face, even though I had no body. The decision was made with my heart, not my mind.

Without thinking, I broke from the blue being behind me and rushed towards the golden shape. Maybe I should have been more cautious. But all of these emotions and memories came rushing back to me. I wanted to be with my friends again. My family. Natsu. So, I rushed towards the golden light. I felt its warmth. It embraced me. And then everything went dark again.

***  
Once again, I woke up in darkness. But I wasn’t in the place I was in before. I was somewhere very different. I opened my eyes. My vision was blurry, but gradually seemed to get better. It was still dark, but I could make out some things. I knew I wasn’t alone. There were people around me, although I couldn’t really make them out. My head felt fuzzy. I couldn’t think clearly. I was disoriented.

I tried to move, but that turned out to be pretty hard actually. I had trouble moving my limbs. _My limbs._ Yes, I had a body again. But I wasn’t aware of much else at that moment. I heard this noise though. Loud and awful. It was close by. What was it?

After about a minute (though It felt longer), I realized what the sound was. It was someone screaming. It was a girl. She sounded like she was in terrible pain. _That poor girl. I feel so sorry for her._ I thought. I tried to look around to find her. But as I did, I realized where the screaming was coming from: my own mouth. I was the girl screaming in pain.

My mind became clearer. I was starting to wish it hadn’t. I could only see out of one eye. The other was just darkness. People around me were saying something. I think it was some kind of magical chant, but I wasn’t thinking about that at the time. My limbs felt like they were on fire. I couldn’t move them. I eventually ran out of breath and stopped screaming, which made me realize my mouth was hurting too. My arms and legs still hurt the most though. I noticed someone standing over me, a woman with blonde hair. “It will be over soon. Birth is always painful. And so is rebirth.” She said this, but I barely understood what she was saying. After another minute, I blacked out.

***  
I woke up again some time later. I was again disoriented. It took me a few minutes to fully wake up. The pain was still there, but thankfully it was more bearable now. I was starting to get a little tired of not knowing where I was or what was going on. I forced myself to focus. I wanted to know where I was, if nothing else.

I looked around, and saw that I was in a small room by myself. I didn’t recognize the place. A lot of the room seemed to be made of stone. There was moss on the walls. There was an earthy smell all around. I looked down at myself. I was on a bed of sorts. I was covered in sheets. Well, they looked like sheets, but they actually felt more like burlap. Not very comfortable. But at least I wasn’t in excruciating pain anymore.

I decided to try moving. That was more difficult than I was expecting. I could move my limbs, a little. But they felt heavy, and they still hurt. I didn’t want to just lay there though. I tried talking. “Hello?” I said. My voice was hoarse. Maybe from the screaming. I tried saying it louder. “Hello!?” Is anyone there?” I felt anxious. I didn’t understand what was happening. How did I get there? And where was I before? My memories felt hazy and jumbled. Suddenly, I heard the door creak open. As it opened, A large, cloaked figure walked into the room. I couldn’t see his face. He was wearing a robe, and under the hood something seemed to be glowing purple. He stood a few feet from the bed. Just stood there, with his hands folded. He was tall and menacing. Suddenly, I wished I was still alone.

“Who are you?” I asked nervously. He didn’t answer. Just stood there, like a statue. I couldn’t really move or run away, so I felt pretty helpless there.

But then someone else walked through the door. For a second I thought it was going to be another cloak, but it wasn’t. It was a woman. Tall, blonde, and striking. Her dress looked kind of primitive, and her eyes were all red, which made her look a little creepy. But then she smiled, and she also looked really pretty. She smiled at me. “Hello Lisanna. You’re finally awake.” She said. I squinted at her. “Do I know you?” I asked. She laughed, and shook her head.

“Not exactly. Although we have already met, in a way. I’m glad you decided to come back to this world with me.” As she said this, I remembered being in that strange, dark place, and rushing towards the golden shape. It asked me to trust it.

“You!” I said. She spread her hands and smiled wider, showing her teeth. It came off as kind of threatening, but I’m sure she didn’t mean it that way. “Myself. And now, you and I are here together, having crossed the boundaries of time and space, life and death. Its beautiful, isn’t it?”

I looked at her funny. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I said simply. She nodded. “Of course, you’re confused. I’ll explain it all to you in time. Besides, I know you didn’t come here for me. You want to see Natsu, don’t you? You can. He’s here, waiting for you.” When she mentioned Natsu, my head snapped up. I didn’t remember a lot from before my death. But Natsu… him I definitely remembered. Somehow, the thought that he was here and waiting for me made me temporarily forget about all the bad stuff.

“Natsu… Dragneel. He’s here? Natsu’s here? Where? Where is he?” I asked the woman these questions, and she looked like she thought I was saying something funny. I did want to see him. But I think I was also a little desperate to see a familiar face after all this strangeness and trauma.

“I’ll take you to him, soon. But first, there are a couple things we have to take care of. For starters, let me properly introduce myself. My name is Boudica.” She introduced herself, and then spread her hands again and bowed.

“I’m Lisanna Strauss. But I guess you already knew that.” I said. “By the way, is Boudica your first or last name?” I asked.

“Just Boudica.” She said. I guess there was nothing else to say about that.

“Now, the other thing we need to talk about is more important. We need to talk about you.” Boudica said.

“Me?” I said.

“Yes. Lisanna, I can’t explain everything right away. It would be too much to take in. But there is something very important that you need to understand. You died. Do you remember that?” Boudica said. I stared for a bit.

“I died…” I said. Now that she mentioned it, I did remember that. I was outside with my siblings. And then my brother… he killed me. After that, I ended up… not sure where. Was it the afterlife? If it was, then its not what I would have pictured heaven to be like. Besides, people generally don’t come back from that, do they? As I was thinking this, Boudica, as If she were reading my mind, said, “I helped bring you back. Or rather, we did. It was a group effort, truthfully. I’m sure you have questions about that place, but that can wait. There’s something more immediate that needs to be addressed.”

I wasn’t sure what she was getting at. She walked over towards me, standing over me. “Lisanna, you were brought back from the dead. That might sound hard to believe, but its true. Recreating life like this is very difficult, but not impossible. You might wonder why I did this. I have my reasons. I went to great trouble to bring you here. But you’re alive, so it was worth it.”

I sat there and thought about this. “I believe you. I remember dying. And there are all kinds of strange things in the world. Magic, and monsters, and even demons. If anything, the harder thing to accept is what happened after I died. That was… something else. I felt like I was in that place for a while, but now that I’m here it seems almost like a dream. Unbelievable. And amazing. And scary.” I realized that I was rambling. “Um, anyway, thank you for helping me, and bringing me back. I guess I owe you my life.” Boudica smiled.

“Natsu deserves some of the credit for you being here.” She said. I was about to ask more about him, but she held up a hand and spoke first. “You mentioned demons earlier. That’s actually another part of what I need to tell you. There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just say it plainly. Lisanna, you are now part demon.” Boudica said this, but I didn’t understand what she meant.

“Part demon? What do you mean?” I looked down at my body, but my limbs were still covered by the blanket. Without saying anything else, she pulled the blanket back. For the first time since I woke up here, I was now seeing what I looked like. My torso was covered up by what looked like a makeshift dress. But my arms and legs were uncovered. The lower parts of my limbs looked… wrong. Inhuman. I gasped in surprise.

“This was the only real way to bring you back in a stable form. I’m sorry child, but I’m afraid its permanent. This is your body now. I’m sure in time, you’ll adjust to it.” Boudica explained all of this to me. I looked down at my demonic hands. I could move them a little. I held them up, and flexed the fingers, confirming that they were really mine. I’ll admit, I screamed. Or at least, I tried to, but because I had already screamed so much before, all that came out was a croak.

Its not like I hadn’t seen Mirajane in demon form before. And I knew that there were various non-human people in the world. But still, having your body radically changed like that, and being told that its permanent… it’s a little much. So yeah, my initial reaction to this was less than enthusiastic. I closed my eyes. I felt Boudica’s hand on my shoulder. I guess she was trying to comfort me. But then I thought of something, and opened my eyes.

“My face. What does my face look like?” Was I being vain for worrying about that? I don’t know. But in that moment, I really wanted to know I looked like. Boudica turned to the cloak and nodded at him. He walked over to a corner and grabbed something. He brought it over to her, and she held it to my face. It was a small mirror. I looked inside. I saw my face. Mostly normal. White hair, light skin, blue eyes. At least, one of them was. The other had been changed. I looked at my reflection with my mouth open. And then I noticed my teeth. Fangs. I closed my eyes again. “That’s enough.” I whispered.

“I’ll give you some time.” Boudica said. I heard her walk back towards the door. “And Lisanna: let me know when you want to see Natsu. He knows what you look like now. He won’t be surprised. I think it would do you good to see him.” Then, she and the cloak both left the room, leaving me alone. I sat there a little while, all of this weird, new information swirling around my head. After a while I fell asleep.

***  
I slept longer than I meant to. I was told that I slept for twelve hours. They said it was because my body needed to recover, so I needed a lot of rest. The day after I met Boudica, they let me out of the bed. They put me in something like a wheelchair, only more primitive. I met some of the others there. I met Sael, the handsome guy who builds stuff. He’s also some sort of royalty, but I didn’t completely understand that at the time. I met Arnok too. He was scary, and didn’t want to talk to me. And also Nikodias and Seraiisa, who were both nice.

But I wanted to see Natsu. They told me that he was recovering too. He had played a part in my resurrection (its still weird for me to say that), and I guess it took a lot out of him. But they said it was fine for me to see him for a little while. I still needed time to adjust to my new body, and learn to use my limbs. So, I took the wheelchair to see him. Boudica had a couple of her disciples accompany me. That was when I realized that she was the head of a religious group. Apparently Boudica never named them, but people call them The Golden Light. At the time I didn’t know enough about them to have an opinion.

So, they took me to see Natsu. He was actually in this room we’re sitting in right now. This was before they had fixed the place up, so it was pretty messy at the time. Natsu was inside the cage, with two of the cloaks. They told me he wasn’t a prisoner or anything. He was just sick and needed to be monitored. They wheeled me over to where he was. He was crouched in a corner with his back to me. I looked at him for a minute, not saying anything. I recognized him. But he looked different than I remembered. His hair was all messy. His clothes were dirty and torn. Except for his scarf, which was still in good shape. He looked like he was in pain. I wasn’t sure what to say to him. I had wanted to see him since I woke up. But now I was at a loss for words. I had known him since we were both really little. He was my friend.

“Natsu.” I said. My voice sounded a little stronger by that point. He shuddered. I didn’t know if he heard me or not. I repeated his name, a little louder this time. “Natsu. Its Lisanna. Can you hear me? They said you helped me.” I spoke to him, and he slowly turned around. “Lisanna.” He muttered. I leaned forward. “Yeah, its me. Its so good to see you, Natsu. Its been a long time. I think. How are you doing?” I was trying not to be too dramatic. I wanted to try to lighten the mood a little, after everything that had happened. Maybe I was trying to normalize the situation. Like we were just two friends catching up and saying hi. But when I looked at him more closely, I knew that there was something off about him. He wasn’t just dirty and unkempt. He looked… hurt, somehow. I don’t mean he was injured. There was just something wrong with him. His eyes looked intense, but unfocused at the same time. He looked like he was grinding his teeth. And his muscles kept twitching. Looking at Natsu the way he was, and myself with my changed body, sitting in a wheelchair, I realized that there was no pretending there was anything normal about this. About us.

Natsu slowly got to his feet. He put his hand against a wall to support himself. He looked at me. Looked me up and down, with his unfocused eyes. Then he said, “Lisanna. You’re really alive. It really is you, right? You’re actually here?” I wasn’t sure what he meant by that. I knew I looked different, but I also knew I was definitely me. “Yeah Natsu, its me. Lisanna Strauss. I know I look… strange. Maybe scary?” I moved my hands weakly, like I was saying ‘Yeah, I know I’m kinda horrifying now’. He did look down at my hands for a second. But then he looked back up at my face, and smiled weakly. “You’re Lisanna, and you’re alive, and that’s beautiful.” He said. I was caught off guard by that. It was such an un-Natsu like thing to say. At least, from what I remembered. I didn’t know how to respond, so I just sat there awkwardly for a minute.

Eventually, Natsu sat down on the ground yoga style, and looked up at me. He looked a little better now. Maybe his pain was fading. Or maybe he was just trying to control it so he could talk to me. Not sure. I looked down at him. I wanted to just enjoy being with him, but there were things I needed to know.

“Natsu… what exactly is going on here? Where are we? How do you know these people? Do you trust them? And how was I brought back? I mean, I didn’t even think that was possible, but here I am. And here you are, and I don’t even know what you’re doing here.” I stopped, and realized that I was overloading him with questions. But he just smiled a little.

“Gods Lisanna, I don’t know where to start. It’s a long story.” He said.

“I bet.” I said back. Natsu put his hands on the floor, looking like he was trying to focus. “I don’t think I can tell you everything right now. There are parts of it I don’t even understand. Besides, I’m not feeling too hot, and I don’t know how long I can talk like this. But I can tell you a few things at least.” I leaned forward, completely focused on what he was saying. “Please, go on.” I urged him. He took a breath.

“Alright. Where we are? We’re in Bosco. Or at least, the outskirts of Bosco. I don’t think we’re near any cities or anything. And this place?” He waved his hand around, gesturing to the walls of the building we’re in. “I don’t know. Its some old ruin. Maybe it used to be some place important. I didn’t ask. Didn’t care.” I smiled. Now he was starting to sound more like the Natsu I knew. He continued.

“Now, these people. You met the blonde woman, right?” he said.

I nodded. “Boudica, yeah. And a few others. Most of them seem nice, if a little weird. But maybe its just their culture?” I reminded myself we were in a foreign country, likely with different customs and norms.

“Lisanna… I don’t know that much about these people. Some of them rub me the wrong way, like that Arnok guy. But I do know this: they helped me bring you back.” He said.

“How, and why?” I asked.

“The how is complicated. I can’t really explain it. Maybe Boudica or one of the others can. Why? I made a deal with them. They needed my help. I helped them. And they helped me.” He said.

Natsu’s explanation raised as many questions as it answered. I felt like we’d be here all day if I asked him to explain everything, and he obviously wasn’t up for that. But there was something I was still curious about.

“Is that why you came all the way out here? To bring me back?” I asked. Natsu didn’t respond at first. He looked like he was thinking about something. Then he spoke. “Not just you. I did want you back. But there was something else too. Something that happened after you died. It… changed things.” Now he was getting morose again. I didn’t like seeing him like that.

“What is it? What happened?” I asked. I could tell it was a sensitive topic, so I tried to ask gently.

“I don’t want to talk about that right now. Some other time. Let’s just say I still have something here I need to do.” He suddenly grimaced, and held his head. He breathed hard.

“Natsu, are you okay?” I asked. I tried to reach for him, but almost fell out of the chair. He looked at me, again with pain on his face. “I… I’ll be fine. I just can’t talk anymore right now. Need to…” He pounded his fist against the floor. I wanted to help him, but didn’t know how. But the people who brought me there started wheeling me away, saying that he needed to be alone now. I didn’t like that, but I accepted it. I hoped to see him again later that day. But it would be a few weeks before I would get a chance to talk to him again.

***  
During those few weeks, I gradually recovered. I was able to walk on my own again, and didn’t need the chair anymore. I still didn’t feel like I could run a marathon or anything (not that I ever could), but I could at least move around on my own and feed and clothe myself. That was nice.

I didn’t see much of Natsu during that time. I saw him in passing a couple times, but for one reason or another he wasn’t able to talk much. I was starting to get a little concerned about him. But Natsu was always strong, so I figured he’d be okay.

I got to know a few people, like Seraiisa, and you, Alrace. And I did get a little more comfortable in this place as they cleaned it up. But I still felt like an outsider. And I still had questions. They didn’t want me wandering around unsupervised, and especially didn’t want me to leave the building without someone with me. They said it wasn’t safe, and that my appearance might frighten people. They also said there were enemies around, but I didn’t really know what that meant.

Anyway, there’s just one more thing I wanted to talk about. I feel like its kind of important. It was the day I spoke to Natsu again for the first time since that day I came to see him in the wheelchair. Several weeks had passed, and I decided to go to the garden. You know, that one I like to sit in. I decided that I wanted to try using my magic again, see if it would work. I use animal soul magic, in case you don’t know. The garden felt like a good place to try it. Of course, they insisted I have supervision. But instead of the cloaks (I found out they were called “keepers”), Boudica herself came to watch me. I was fine with that. I was more comfortable with her than them.

There were a lot of things I still didn’t remember. I was told that it was because of how I was brought back. I wasn’t whole, physically or mentally. But I did remember I had animal soul magic. I just hoped that I could still use it. When you’re a mage, magic is a part of who you are. Losing it would be like losing a part of yourself. I know someone told me that once. I just wish I could remember who it was.

So, I was in the garden, late afternoon, with Boudica nearby watching me. It was pretty looking, with the gold rays of the sun shining down, and the colorful birds. Seeing the birds flying around, and landing at the nearby bird bath, I wondered if I could transform into a bird. I tried to remember if that was one of my forms. I could see an image of myself as a bird, I think. A cute, green bird. I couldn’t be sure if that was just my imagination though. Only one way to find out. I concentrated, and pictured the form of a bird. I gathered my magical energy, and then finished the spell. I felt myself changing. The change was rapid. My body growing smaller, and wings sprouting. After just a few seconds, it was over. It worked.

I flapped my wings to test them out. Everything seemed to work fine. This felt good. But something seemed weird. I noticed my wings looked darker than before. They weren’t green. They actually looked black. Maybe my memory of the color was off? I went over to the bird bath to look at my reflection in it. The birds there all flew off as soon as I approached. I looked into the water. Something was wrong. I did not look like a cute green bird. I looked like some kind of monster. The beak was all jagged, and my eyes were red. My feathers were black and silver. I reeled back from the bird bath. I didn’t like this.

“What is this?” I said, turning to Boudica. I can still talk in animal form. Boudica stepped closer to me. Your transformation was successful. Good job.” She smiled. I didn’t feel like smiling.

“I look horrible.” I said. She tilted her head. “You think? I think you look beautiful.” I didn’t agree with that, but that wasn’t really the point.

“I didn’t look like this before. I mean, I know I don’t remember everything, but I know my bird form didn’t look like this.” I wasn’t really hiding my feelings here. Boudica put a finger to her chin. “If I had to guess, I would say that its probably a result of your new demon parts. Its not just your regular body that’s changed, but your animal forms too. Which makes sense. You essentially are part demon now, Lisanna.” Boudica said all of this causally, like it was nothing. Part demon. Up until that point, I had convinced myself that the demon parts were just like prosthetics or something. That I could deal with. But, she says that I’m actually part demon. Not human. I can’t say I was okay with that. I didn’t say anything, but I guess she could tell from looking at me that I was bothered by this.

“Its okay, dear. You’re still Lisanna. But better. For example, you should be stronger now.” She said. I looked up at her. “Stronger?” I asked.

“Yes. In fact, why not test it out right now? See that tree over there? Try rushing at it and hitting it. See how much damage you can do.” She said. I looked over at the tree she indicated, a few yards away.

“I don’t know…” I said. She put her hands together. “Please? I’m curious to see what you can do.” Even though I hadn’t known her that long, I had grown to like Boudica. I felt like I could trust her. And I didn’t want to displease her. “Well, okay. I guess I could try it.”

I turned towards the tree, and positioned myself for a charge. After a second, I ran towards the tree and jumped at it, talons first. I figured I might leave a few marks in it. But when I hit, there was a loud impact. The tree shook. As I stepped back, I realized that the loud sound was the tree breaking. It was broken more than halfway through its trunk, and was leaning diagonally now. There was also a small crater where I had hit it. Maybe I should mention it was a thick, old tree. “Did I do that?” I gasped. Just then, the tree made an awful sound, and fell over the rest of the way, hitting the ground with a loud thud. Boudica laughed.

“Yes, you did that.” She said, obviously pleased with what just happened. I actually felt a little scared by it. I instantly changed back to human (er, semi-human) form. Boudica turned to me. “Now I’m curious to see what you can do in your other forms.” She said. I looked back at the fallen tree. “Maybe some other time.” I said in a small voice.

“As you wish.” Boudica said. After that, we called it a day, and left the garden. Boudica said she had important matters to take care of somewhere else. I went back to the room they had given me. I hadn’t decorated it yet, so it was pretty bare. But on my way back, something happened. In a hallway I ran into Natsu. Or rather, I saw him leaning against a wall, and he looked awful. I ran over to him. “Natsu!” I said, and ran up and put my arms around him. He slowly lifted his head and looked at me.

“Lisanna?” he said. I nodded. “What’s wrong? What happened to you?”

“Nothing happened. I’m still not better yet. But I’ll get better. There’s something I gotta do…” he said, sounding weak.

“Still? You mean you never recovered from before?” I asked.

“Guess not.” he said. I was worried. I was sure he’d be better by now. I considered calling for one of the doctors around here (I think its weird that they call doctors here “leeches”), but on an impulse I decided to take him back to my room instead. It was close by, so it wasn’t hard to get him there. Maybe that was irresponsible, but I didn’t think he was in danger of dying right there. Besides, I really wanted, maybe even needed, to see him privately. Don’t get the wrong idea though, I just wanted to talk to him.

I helped Natsu back to my room. I noticed that I was able to support him easily, which made me remember what Boudica had said about me being stronger now. Natsu didn’t object to going to my room, although halfway he insisted on walking on his own. I guess he felt a little embarrassed at me helping him walk like that. So, he stumbled along next to me as we got to the door. Once inside, he flopped down on my bed. He didn’t seem sleepy, just out of energy. I sat down on the bed next to him.

“Natsu, there’s something wrong with you. What is it? Can you tell me? I’d like to help you, if I can.” I said. He was laying down face up, feet hanging off the side of the bed. He stared up at the ceiling, and didn’t say anything at first. Then, without turning, he said, “I’ll be alright Lisanna. Trust me.” That didn’t make me feel better.

“Are you sure about that? Do you even know what’s wrong? I do trust you Natsu, but this place is still weird to me. And I don’t know what you’ve been doing. I feel like I’m being kept in the dark a lot. Even by you. Do you trust me?” I asked. He turned to me.

“Of course I do. I’ve known you longer than… Well, most people. You’re Lisanna.” I don’t know why, but the way he said ‘you’re Lisanna’; it made me feel something. I looked away from him for a moment and felt heat on my face. Was it getting hot? I suddenly touched his arm with my hand/claw, and said, “This doesn’t bother you at all?” He looked at me with a confused expression. “What do you mean? Does what bother me?” he said, sounding like he really didn’t know what I meant. I couldn’t help but smile. I wasn’t sure if he was being sweet, or dense, or both. Either way, I found it endearing. But there was a question I wanted to ask him.

“Natsu… Is there anyone else you’re close to? Someone special?” I waited for Natsu to answer. Finally, he said, “Fairy Tail is special to me. Or at least, it was. I mean, it still is. Its complicated.” Natsu sat up. We were sitting next to each other now.

“Look Lisanna, since you’ve been gone, some fucked up stuff has happened.” I was caught off guard by him saying that. It wasn’t like Natsu to use that kind of language. At least, I don’t think it was. I looked him in the face. “What kind of fucked up stuff happened, Natsu?” I asked. I was being serious, but Natsu smirked at me when I said that. I guess it wasn’t like me to talk like that either. But then he got serious again.

“People got hurt. And killed. And it hurt like hell for me to watch it. People started leaving the guild. It felt like Fairy Tail was being torn apart from the inside out. I couldn’t stay there and watch that happen to the guild I love. That’s why I came here.” I listened as he explained all of this.

“It sounds like the guild needed you Natsu. I mean, I’m grateful to be here, but are you sure you made the right choice?” I asked. He looked at me with a serious look.

“The way I see it, there wasn’t any choice to make. What was I supposed to do? Make flowery speeches and inspire people? That’s Makarov’s job. I couldn’t just sit around doing nothing. I’m the kind of guy who needs to get out there and do something, not just wait for things to happen around me, and then react to it. So that’s why I came here. I heard about these people and what they can do. They have the power to bring the dead back. To heal. Power we need.” The way Natsu was talking concerned me. I don’t remember him ever sounding like this before. What happened to make him feel this way? It must have been something awful.

I gathered my thoughts. I looked at him. “Natsu, I trust you. But how much can we trust these people? They seem nice. Well, not all of them. But many of them seem like decent people, if kind of strange. And I believe they can probably help. But how did you meet them? What’s your relationship with them?” I had more questions, but Natsu slumped, looking tired again. He took a breath.

“It would take too long to explain it all right now. Let’s just say, they were trapped. They asked for my help. I helped free them. In return, they promised to help me. They brought you back. That goes a long way towards earning my trust. But they made another promise too.” I waited for Natsu to elaborate, but he didn’t. It seemed like it was getting harder for him to concentrate. I wanted to help him with whatever was wrong with him. I needed to find out what the problem was, I decided. But right at that moment, I just wanted to enjoy being with him a little longer.

“Hey, Natsu. Do you remember how we took care of Happy’s egg together when we were kids? And we tried to keep it safe and warm until it hatched?” I asked. Natsu turned to me, and had a hard to read look on his face.

“Yeah, of course I remember that. A little surprised you do though. I heard your memory isn’t too good.” He said.

“That’s true. There’s a lot I don’t remember. But I seem to remember stuff about you more clearly.” He looked surprised by this.

“Really? And you even remember stuff from when we were little?” he said.

“Yeah. I was the mommy, and you were the daddy, right?” I smiled at him. He looked embarrassed, and turned his head. “Uh, right. You know, that was a long time ago.” He said.

“I know. I guess, for some reason, it was just something that was important to me. But I know that’s silly.” I turned away, starting to feel a little embarrassed myself. But then I felt his hand on my shoulder, and I turned to see him looking me in the face. “Just because I don’t feel like talking about it doesn’t mean its not important to me.” He paused a moment, then continued. “Lisanna, I hate that you have to be here in this place, and go through this stuff. But I’m also glad you’re with me. I guess that doesn’t make sense.” I was not expecting him to say that, and wasn’t sure how to respond. Before I could think of something, there was a knock on the door, and then the door to my room opened. It was one of the doctors, or “leeches”, and a keeper was with him/her. It was hard to tell the gender, because the leeches dress funny. At least, I think so. They wear flowy white robes and hoods, and also wear masks. I know doctors wear face masks and stuff, but the leeches wear white masks that cover their entire face, which with the robe and hood make them look like ghosts. I’m not sure that’s the impression a doctor should give.

“Natsu Dragneel, we are here to help you. Please come with us.” They said in a dull monotone. They way they talk only added to the “ghost” thing. I stood up with Natsu.

“Lisanna Strauss, your presence is not required. Boudica requests that you stay here.” The leech said. I notice that everyone just calls her “Boudica”. No title or anything, even though she’s one of the leaders here. At any rate, I would have made a case for coming, but Natsu held up a hand. “Its fine. I don’t want you to see me like this anyway. We’ll talk later.” He said, and started walking out the room.

“I’m counting on it.” I said. He left with the two others, and I was left alone again. After that, I did see Natsu a few times, but always with supervision. I couldn’t talk to him alone, which was frustrating. And then tonight you brought me to him, and I saw some of what was going on. As usual, it raised more questions though. I hope tonight I finally get the answers to them.

***  
Lisanna let out a long sigh. Her mouth felt dry from talking so much. Alrace had sat there listening to her story without interrupting.

“Geez, I really went on, didn’t I? I didn’t mean to. I guess I just had a lot to get off my chest. It felt nice to be able to tell all of this to someone. Thanks for listening.”  
Alrace nodded. “It was interesting to hear. You’re a good storyteller. I hope you two both find what you’re looking for. And I hope Boudica tells you what you want to know.” He said.

“Well, why don’t you just ask her right now?” a voice said. Lisanna and her companion turned to the darkness, and saw a figure moving towards them. Stepping into the light, it was Boudica herself.

“H-how long were you standing there listening?” Lisanna asked. Boudica shrugged. “Not too long. I didn’t want to interrupt you though. Not when you were talking about dear Natsu.” Boudica said. Her tone and expression were neutral. Lisanna became a little embarrassed. “I’m just worried about him.” she said softly. Boudica clapped her hands together. “Of course you are. He’s your oldest friend. You want to know what’s happening with him right now. And I’ll tell you.”

Boudica walked up to the cage and grabbed the bars while looking at the two of them. Alrace kept his head down, while Lisanna looked at Boudica expectantly.

“You want to know why Natsu has been so out of sorts? So tired? In so much pain? There’s a simple explanation for that, Lisanna: its because of you.” As Boudica said this, Lisanna’s eyes widened.

“What?!” she exclaimed. She looked confused and alarmed. Boudica smiled. 

“Maybe that wasn’t the right way to put that. Its not that its anything you did. It’s the fact that you’re here. Or rather, the fact that he played a crucial role in bringing you back. We never did tell you how we accomplished that, did we? Well, its complicated. I won’t explain the entire process, but I, along with a few others, used powerful magic to bring you here. But that wasn’t enough. The ritual that we used required life energy from a still living person. And not just any person. It had to be someone who knew you personally. Someone who remembered you, and had strong feelings for you. That’s just how it works. It would have been easier without those stipulations. Then we could have maybe used someone else, like one of my disciples. They have no qualms about sacrificing themselves for a good cause. And we all agree that restoring your life was a good cause, don’t we?”

Boudica paused, and Lisanna appeared distraught at hearing all of this. “So, your saying its my fault that Natsu’s suffering?” Boudica shook her head.

“Don’t misunderstand. Natsu chose this. He knew what the price would be, and he agreed to pay it. He felt it was worth it. Do you disagree?” Boudica looked at Lisanna with lidded eyes. Lisanna stood up.

“I’m glad to be alive. I’m grateful. But Natsu shouldn’t have to suffer like this for me.” She said.

“I agree. Which is why we’re helping him. He’s starting to get better now.” Boudica replied.

“He is? Really?” Lisanna said. Boudica, walking around the cage, nodded. “Absolutely. You know how? By getting stronger. He’s making himself stronger, more powerful. That will give him more control. He’s pushing his magic potential to the limits, and its impressive. Its possible there are other methods that would help, but this is the easiest and surest way.”

Lisanna paused to consider all of this. This was, as usual, a lot for her to take in all at once. But she nodded. “Okay then. So, he’ll be fine then?” she said hopefully. Boudica stopped moving again, and looked at Lisanna.

“Its not that simple, child. There’s another aspect to this you should be made aware of. You see, you and Natsu are bound together. I’m not speaking metaphorically. There is literally a magical bond between the two of you. Which has been the case since you were brought back.”

Lisanna grew concerned again. “What does that mean?”

“I told you that this ritual required life energy. Natsu’s, for you. You now have some of his life essence. You are linked to him. It sustains you. This has taken a toll on Natsu, both physically and mentally. But if his magic power grows, then I’m confident he can overcome the effects. But there is a catch. Since you two are linked, that means there’s a limit to how far his power will help him. It would be a lot more effective if you grew in power as well. The stronger you are, the less you, that is to say your body, will depend on him. In other words, it would benefit you both to become stronger. But of course, that’s up to you. How badly do you want to help Natsu?” Boudica finished her explanation. Lisanna stood there silently for a minute, absorbing all of this. She took a few breaths.

“I… want to help him. I just need some time to get this all sorted in my head.” Lisanna said. At this point she didn’t know how to feel. Boudica spread her arms. “Of course. You need time to digest this. But you do remember I said I wanted you for a mission of sorts? That’s tomorrow. You don’t need to decide anything immediately, but I would advise you to come with us. It could give you a chance to sharpen your skills. Besides, it would also give you the opportunity to finally see more of the country, instead of being cooped up here all the time. I won’t force you to do this. But I do recommend it.” Boudica finished. Lisanna stepped forward.

“I said I would go with you. And I will. I wanted to know what was going on, and you told me. I appreciate that. But I still want to know more. Maybe going out with you will help with that. I want to know more about you, and what you do. What your mission is.” Lisanna said this soberly. Boudica raised an eyebrow, but also smiled. “Fair enough. Now, get some sleep. You’ll need it. We leave tomorrow.” Boudica then turned to Alrace, who had kept silent for a while. “And Alrace; I want to talk to you privately. There are some things we need to discuss one on one.” Alrace looked bothered by this, but said, “Of course. Whatever you want.” He bowed. Lisanna hoped he wasn’t in too much trouble.

Boudica turned back to Lisanna. “You can go now. Good night Lisanna.” She said. Lisanna watched as the cloaks left, easing some of the tension. “Yeah. Good night.” Lisanna said and left the cage. But before leaving, she turned back to Budica.

“I have one more question for you. If you don’t mind.” Lisanna said. Boudica turned back to her. “And what would that be?” Lisanna considered saying “never mind”, and leaving, but she had to know this.

“I want to know who Erza is. You mentioned her earlier. She’s someone Natsu knows, right? Do I know her too? I can’t remember.” Boudica regarded Lisanna for a moment, and then folded her arms.

“Erza is Natsu’s friend. And guildmate. And yes, I believe you knew her too. She’s dead now. The details aren’t important. Natsu wants her back. Just like he wanted you back.” Boudica spoke plainly.

“But… wouldn’t that require more life energy from him?” Lisanna asked. Boudica didn’t immediately respond. Lisanna sensed that she didn’t want to talk about this anymore, and her next statement confirmed that.

“We’ll talk about this more another time. For now, you’ll just have to trust that I know what I’m doing. Good night Lisanna.” She said this politely, but firmly. Lisanna wanted to question this further, but Boudica made it clear the conversation was over. Lisanna wanted to trust that Boudica and Natsu knew what they were doing, but she couldn’t help being concerned. Nevertheless, she said good night and left the chamber.

***  
Lisanna got back to her room. She laid down in bed, thinking of everything that she saw and learned today. She would need time to figure this all out. For now, she would just need to sleep on it. And maybe tomorrow, things would become a little clearer for her.

As she fell asleep, she did at least know one thing for certain; she was determined to help Natsu, one way or another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being longer than I intended, which is why it took so long.
> 
> At this point I want to mention a few things. I haven't kept up with the more recent Fairy Tail canon stuff. In fact, I pretty much stopped keeping up with it after the Tartaros and Fairy Tail Zero stuff. I did see some spoilers though, so I have a general idea of how the main story ends. I'm not familiar at all with the 100 Year Quest stuff though. So, if any of the characters or concepts in this story seem similar to anything from the later Fairy Tail stuff, then its coincidental.
> 
> This is especially true of the Bosco stuff. Obviously, I am using Bosco in this story, and will explore its culture (as I imagine it) in the story. Part of the reason I decided to use Bosco is because it had never been explored in the canon, so that would give me room to do what I want with it without the restraints of the canon. If Bosco ends up appearing in 100 Year Quest or something, then just remember this is supposed to be an AU. I'm also aware that some fanfic authors may have used Bosco in their stories, but I haven't read those.
> 
> At any rate, the next chapter won't focus entirely on Lisanna and the Bosco stuff like this chapter did. If anyone has any comments or questions about the original characters and concepts I'm using in this story, then say so in the comments. I'll just say that I fully intend to have the canon characters remain the main focus of the story most of the time.


	17. Scenes in the Lives of Fairy Tail

It was morning at Lucy Heartfilia’s apartment. The curtains were partially drawn, allowing solitary rays of sunshine in. It was quiet, with the only noticeable sound being Lucy’s breathing as she slept. As the sunlight came into the room, she slowly began to wake up. For a minute, she lay there with her eyes closed. At first, she thought about how she wasn’t looking forward to another day of the usual routine. But then she remembered what happened the night before. The alleyway, Loke, and finally her and Loke together, here in the apartment. Last night, Lucy had lost her virginity to Loke.

A rapid series of emotions flew through her mind and heart. At first, disbelief that she had actually done that with Loke. Then, a lingering sense of shame at what she did (as was instilled in her from a young age). But then, a sense of giddiness at “breaking the rules” and having “done the deed” with a man she wasn’t in a committed relationship with. And finally, concern as to whether Loke would still be there when she opened her eyes. Granted, this was only supposed to be a one night stand. But he _had_ promised.

Lucy slowly opened her eyes. The room was dimly lit, so she couldn’t see clearly at first. As her eyes adjusted, she saw Loke lying next to her as he had said. Lucy felt a little better. They were both naked, but laying under a sheet. She reached out a hand and put it on his chest. He turned to her and said, “Hey Lucy.” Seeing that he was awake, she smiled at him.

“Hey yourself.” She replied. He touched her arm tenderly. “That was some night, huh?” He said.

“It was something else.” She said.

“Was it good for you too?” he said. Lucy couldn’t help blush a little. “Yeah. It was my first time, you know. But I can tell you’re really experienced.” She said as she supported herself on her elbow. Loke put his hands behind his head and looked at her. “Yeah, I’ve been around the block a few times.” He replied.

“Its true, he’s been with many women. Or so I’ve heard.” A voice said. Lucy suddenly turned her head in the other direction towards the unexpected voice. “Who’s there?” Lucy asked, suddenly on guard. The owner of the voice was in a darkened corner of the room, but stepped closer so they could see her. It was Virgo the Maiden, dressed in her usual maid outfit.

“Virgo? What are you doing here?” Lucy said. She was now sitting up in bed, covering herself with the sheet.

“Good morning, princess. May I ask, why are you covering yourself? We’re both girls. And I believe Leo has already been intimate with you.” Virgo said. Loke chuckled. Lucy blushed a little again, and dropped the sheet, exposing her chest.

“Again, why are you here in my apartment, and without my permission?” Lucy asked, a little annoyed. She remembered how Natsu (and sometimes other people) would come into her apartment uninvited. It always annoyed her. Virgo bowed. “My apologies princess. I have something to give you, and I felt you would want it as soon as possible.” She explained. Lucy considered this.

“Something to give me? Well, okay. But you could have at least waited until I was awake.” Lucy said.

“But I did. I stood here and waited for you to wake up.” Virgo explained. Lucy raised an eyebrow. “Exactly how long were you standing there?” she asked, folding her arms.

“Not long.” Virgo said simply. “Do you want me to show you what I brought you?”

“Can you let me get dressed first?” Lucy said. “Of course.” Virgo replied. Lucy waited for her to leave the room, but Virgo just stood there in place. “Uh, I meant could you leave the room for a few minutes, give me some privacy?” Lucy said. Virgo blinked. “Ah. Yes. I misunderstood. I’ll be waiting outside your room. Let me know when you’re ready.” Virgo said. She turned to leave, but before she left, she looked at Loke for a second. “Leo.” She said simply, and then left, shutting the door behind her. Lucy sighed, and got up. She put her underwear on first, and then started putting on her shirt. As she was dressing, she turned to Loke, also putting his clothes on.

“Say, Loke. Was there ever anything between you two? I thought I sensed something.” Lucy said. He turned to her. He laughed a little, and said, “No, not between me and Virgo. Don’t get me wrong, she’s hot. But she’s not my type.”

“Really?” Lucy said.

“Yeah. See, Virgo’s into pain, and I’m not into hurting girls.” He explained. “I see.” She said. _I sure am getting to know my spirits intimately_ , she thought. Of course, for various reasons Loke is the only one of her spirits she would ever have considered sleeping with. Not too long ago, she wouldn’t have even seriously considered that.

As Lucy finished dressing, something occurred to her. “Hey, Loke. I know you need my magic power to stay here. So, I guess my magic will be weak the rest of the day.” Loke looked over at her. “Yeah, I do need your magic to stay here. But I wasn’t really using my powers or anything. Plus, I was asleep most of the time, so that helps too. Still, you might want to wait a few hours before trying anything.” He suggested.

“Got it. Thanks. And uh, thanks for last night too.” She said. Loke grinned.

“Oh, so you’re thanking me now? Was I that good?” He expected her to blush, but instead she grinned back. “I didn’t just mean that. I also meant staying with me. I didn’t want to be alone. Besides, it doesn’t feel too good when a guy just leaves in the middle of the night. Or so I’ve heard.” Loke remembered that Lucy said she had thought about doing that with him for a while. He considered asking her to elaborate on that, but decided against it. If she wanted to talk about it, she would. But there was still one thing he wanted to ask her.

“So, just to be clear, last night was…” he started.

“…A one night stand.” She finished. He nodded as she said that. He wasn’t expecting a serious relationship with her (and wasn’t sure he even wanted one), but he couldn’t help feeling a twinge of disappointment at her words. “Just one night? You don’t think there will ever be a second night, someday?” he asked, moving closer to her. Lucy considered this, and then smiled at him. “Never say never.” She considered giving him a goodbye kiss, but then thought better of it. She didn’t want to give him the wrong idea.

After an awkward moment, Loke said, “I guess I’ll be going then.”

“Yeah. I’ll see you later.” She said.

“Hey Lucy, before I go… Do you have any regrets?” he said.

“No way. I’m glad you were my first.” She smiled at him, and it seemed sincere. He smiled back, and without warning kissed her on the cheek. “See ya.” He said, and disappeared. She stood there a minute, taking a moment to reflect on everything that happened. She decided it was time to take a shower. But then she heard a voice outside the door. “Princess, are you ready now?” _Oh yeah. Almost forgot._ Lucy thought to herself. “Coming.” She said, and went to the door. She opened it, and Virgo reentered the room.

“Alright, so what’ve you got for me.” Lucy no longer sounded annoyed with Virgo. She had been irritated at Virgo’s intrusion earlier, but Lucy knew she meant well. Virgo got right to the point.

“I have something important to give you.” She said, and held out a cylindrical object. Lucy looked at it, confused. “What is it?”

“It is a weapon. It is called the Fleuve d'étoiles. Its like the whip you use, only better. Its from the celestial spirit world.” Virgo held the weapon to Lucy, and Lucy gingerly took it, examining it. “Thanks Virgo. I won’t complain about an upgrade. But why now?” Virgo looked at Lucy for a moment, perhaps deciding how to word a response. “I know you’ve wanted to get stronger lately. I thought this might help you.”

“Really?” Lucy said, trying out the weapon. She activated it, and was surprised and delighted with how it worked.

“Well, there is something else.” Virgo continued. “Lately there have been rumblings in the Celestial Spirit World. Talk of something… unnatural. Something that lives in your world, but can touch other worlds.” Lucy was confused by this.

“Something unnatural in our world? What is it? And what do you mean touch other worlds?” Virgo shrugged. “What I’ve heard isn’t specific. I just thought you could use some extra help. That’s all.” Virgo spoke in her usual deadpan, although what she was saying sounded more serious than what Lucy was used to hearing from her.

“You can’t tell me anything else?” Lucy asked.

“If I learn anything, I’ll tell you.” Virgo said. Lucy nodded. “Well, thanks Virgo. I appreciate this.” Virgo bowed. “I’m only doing my job. Goodbye for now, princess.” With that, Virgo disappeared, leaving Lucy alone in the apartment, for real this time. Lucy sighed.

“Now about that shower.”

***  
“Gray, what you said to me yesterday, it hurt. I poured my heart out to you, and you…” Juvia began. She tried to compose herself, feeling that she needed to say this. “Look, I know I come on strong. Maybe I was pushing too hard. But that’s only because I’m crazy about you. I want to explain this the right way, so please just listen.”

Juvia closed her eyes, and tried to recall the speech she had rehearsed. She felt she had to word this the right way. Then he would understand. “For a long time, I was lonely. No one understood. No one wanted to be around me. I was weird, and gloomy.” Juvia had a somber tone to her voice as she spoke. But she kept going.

“When I joined Phantom Lord, I felt like I belonged somewhere. But even there, I didn’t have any real friends. They accepted me, but as a soldier, not a comrade. But then I met you. You were kind. You showed me concern. Like no one else had. That meant so much to me. And you’re so gorgeous too. I’m not ashamed to say that. I fell in love with you almost instantly. And that hasn’t changed since. If anything, my love for you has only deepened. So Gray, tell me; why don’t you love me? What did I do wrong? What could I do to make you happy? What do I have to change about myself? Just tell me. I’ll try anything. For you.”

Juvia finished her monologue. There was a silence after she finished speaking. And that silence went on. Gray Fullbuster was not there. Juvia was sitting alone in a field, on a cold winter’s day. Most of the foliage had died off for the season, giving it a barren look. But Juvia had found a flower still clinging to life. She had picked it, thinking of Gray. She wanted to give it to him. But unconsciously, she ended up ripping all of its petals out during her speech. Finally noticing this, she sighed and dropped it.

“It doesn’t matter.” She said. “He wouldn’t have liked it anyway. It was blue. Not his color.” At that moment, Juvia noticed it had started snowing.

***  
Evergreen sat in an uncomfortable chair, and as uncomfortable as it was, she had been there for almost an hour. She was wearing a long dress and a jacket, and was half-reading a magazine. Standing several feet away was Bickslow, her friend and teammate. And in between the two of them was Freed Justine. Freed was lying in a bed, as he had been for the past few months. They were currently at the hospital that had been taking care of Freed since he fell into a coma.

After Freed had become comatose, many members of the Fairy Tail guild, and even a few people from other guilds, had visited him out of support. They wished for him to get better and recover. Many of them expected him to wake up before long. But over time, this expectation dwindled. After about a month, many of the mages stopped visiting. Not necessarily because they didn’t care, but because they simply had their own lives to live, and their own problems to worry about. Although, it probably didn’t help that Freed, along with the rest of the Thunder Legion, was never that popular in the guild. They had developed a bad reputation under Laxus’ leadership. Evergreen couldn’t help but feel that if Makarov was the one in a coma, then most of the guild would still be visiting all the time.

Evergreen and Bickslow were two of the few who had never stopped coming to visit Freed. They made the time for it at least once a week. Sometimes visiting together, sometimes separately. Sometimes talking to him in the hopes he would hear them, and sometimes saying nothing. Today, they had said very little. Evergreen looked at the clock on the wall. It would be time to leave soon. Not that she considered it a chore to be there, but she did have a job she needed to do, and errands to run.

“Hey, did you hear about Laxus?” Bickslow suddenly decided to speak up. At the mention of Laxus’ name, Evergreen’s head snapped up. “Laxus? What about him? Did something happen?” Bickslow shook his head.

“Relax, its nothing bad. Some of the nurses said he stopped by to visit yesterday. That’s all.” He said. Evergreen nodded. “Oh, I see. I’ve heard he visited a few other times before too. He never seems to come here when we’re around though.” She said with a hint of bitterness. She cared about Laxus. She knew that he had been expelled from the guild, so it wasn’t surprising he wasn’t coming by the guild anymore. But he could still say hi to his friends now and then. _I wish the master would change his mind and let Laxus back in Fairy Tail. I miss him. And Freed. I want our group to be whole again._ She thought.

As Evergreen was thinking this, Bickslow had moved closer to Freed. Evergreen noticed Bickslow touching Freed’s face. “What are you doing?” she asked. Without turning his head, Bickslow replied, “They haven’t been doing the best job shaving him. He’s got this stubble. It looks weird on him. He was always kind of a dandy.” Evergreen knitted her brows.

“Why are you talking about him in the past tense? He’s just… sleeping.” She said. Bickslow looked at her. “Alright, he _is_ kind of a dandy. Better? Come on, you know what I meant. I haven’t given up on him. Never.” Evergreen looked off to the side and held her arms.

“Yeah. Never.” She agreed. At least, that’s what she said aloud. But she quietly thought to herself that he might never wake up. Despite her complaint about what Bickslow had said earlier, she couldn’t help but feel that the chances of Freed recovering were getting narrower as time went on. But she kept these thoughts to herself. She knew that it would only upset Bickslow.

Evergreen stood up, and collected herself. “Well, its time to be going. Are you staying?” she said. Bicklow looked at Freed for a second, and then turned back to her. “Nah. I should be going too. I’ll come back in a few days.” Evergreen nodded, and they both headed for the door. “See ya, buddy.” Bickslow said as he left. They shut the door behind them, leaving Freed alone in the quiet hospital room.

***  
Later that that afternoon, Lucy arrived at the Fairy Tail guild. Normally she would show up earlier, but Levy had told her that the research could wait until later, and she didn’t currently have any jobs to do. As she walked into the guild, she found Levy and Cana there. Cana was leaning against a post with a bottle of alcohol in her hand. As Lucy approached, Cana looked at her. “Hey Lucy, been a while. I’ve missed seeing you. Gave up on the training?” Lucy shook her head.

“No. I’ve just been distracted with stuff, that’s all. But I’m ready to get back into it.” Cana nodded, but then looked Lucy up and down. “Is there something different about you?”

“Different how?” Lucy asked.

“I don’t know. Just different.” Cana said. It looked like she wanted to continue the line of questioning, but Levy spoke up first.

“Hey Lucy, good news. The master came back, and he got some information. I don’t think we’ll be needing to do that research today.” Lucy stopped and stared in surprise. “Oh, really? I didn’t know the master was back. And no more research? Even better!” Levy laughed.

“Well, for now at least. He apparently had a hard time, but he got some information. And he also got this book that should help a little.” Levy held out a book. It was a history book, covering stuff from a long, long time ago. “We need to read a history book?” Lucy said skeptically.

“Not the whole book. But there is one specific chapter that seems to have info that’s pretty relevant.” Levy explained. Lucy was still skeptical that this book could have anything really helpful. But Levy opened it to a bookmarked chapter, and held it out for Lucy to see. Lucy took the book, and read the chapter title. It simply said “The Shadow Kings”. _The Shadow Kings? Sounds like the title of an adventure story,_ Lucy thought.

“You can read the chapter later, but for now I’ll just tell you the important parts. It mentions a few names we’re familiar with. Yoshimoto, Arnok, and Boudica. Of course, I personally saw Yoshimoto, and Racer and Mystogan told us about the other two.” Lucy furrowed her brow.

“Hold on, you said this was a history book. Are you saying these guys are descended from the ‘Shadow Kings’ in this book?” Lucy said. Levy shook her head. “I don’t think so. I read the chapter. The description of their appearance and abilities matches pretty close to what we’ve seen. Yoshimoto is supposed to be a samurai, and an expert at illusion magic. And the Boudica mentioned here is described as tall, blond, and possessing ‘divine magic’. I think these are the same people, not their descendants.”

Lucy looked down at the book, uncertain. At that moment Gray walked over. “What’s going on? Filling Lucy in on that weird book?” Levy made a face.

“Yes, I am. And that weird book is the best lead we have right now.” She said. Lucy looked up from the book. “Hey Levy, how long ago was the stuff in here supposed to have happened?” Levy put her hands on her hips. “1,000 years, give or take.”

“1,000 years?! And you think these are the same guys? Do I need to point out why that’s impossible?” Lucy objected. Levy held up a hand. “Let me try to explain what it says. Maybe it’ll make more sense. Around 1,000 years ago, there were these old civilizations. A bunch of them were at war with each other. But then a few of them made an alliance of convenience. Teaming up against common enemies. This all happened in what is now Bosco by the way. Although, back then Bosco as we know it didn’t exist. It was a bunch of other, smaller countries. So, a few of these different cultures formed an alliance. There was this one barbarian culture led by a brutal king named Arnok. And there was also this highly advanced culture led by another king, named Sael. Way ahead of their time technologically, apparently. And there was another nation that had originally come from further east. I don’t remember the name of that nation’s leader, but there was a general named Yoshimoto. And finally, there was a religious group led by a charismatic figure named Boudica. Oddly, she wasn’t the leader of a nation or army, just that group. In fact, it doesn’t even say what country she was originally from. But these four groups formed an alliance, and helped to consolidate Bosco into a single power.”

Lucy felt the need to interrupt. “Alright, hold on a minute. Some fringe religious group, barbarians, some super advanced society, and eastern samurais? These things sound like they have nothing in common. Why would they ever team up?”

“Like I said, it was an alliance of convenience. They only really intended to work together until all their enemies had been dealt with. After that, its not really clear how they planned to settle things.”

“Okay. So, what makes you think these are the same people who attacked us?” Lucy asked.

“I’m getting to that. So, apparently Boudica and her group, with some help from the magic and technology of the others, began experimenting with reviving the dead using magic. They weren’t very successful at first, but came closer to getting it right over time. They also began heading into what is now known as Fiore to do experiments. Long story short, this eventually led to another war, between them and ‘Old Fiore’. The experiments continued though, and then… they vanished.”

“What do you mean they vanished?” Lucy said. Levy continued.

“This next part goes more into the area of myth and legend. Supposedly, they succeeded in reviving the dead. Animals, and even some people. They used them as soldiers in their fight. This helped give them an advantage over their enemies. But not long after that, the gods stepped in. That’s right, actual divine intervention, or so the story goes. Bringing the dead back is something the gods frown on. And so the alliance was, according to the book, banished to a shadow realm. Some otherworldly plane of existence. The details on this are kind of murky though. Like I said, the book only has one chapter on this stuff, unfortunately.” Levy concluded.

Lucy folded her arms, and considered all of this. “Well, this is all very interesting, but I still have a hard time believing these are the same guys. I mean, if they were sent to this ‘shadow realm’, then what are they doing here, now?”

“ _That’s_ a good question.” Levy said.

“There’s something I don’t get.” Gray said. Levy and Lucy turned to him. “You said this all happened about 1,000 years ago, right? But, from what I’ve always heard, magic has only been around for a few hundred years. Not _that_ long. I mean, we’re talking about stuff that pre-dates the black wizard Zeref.”

Levy stopped to think about this. “That’s true. Magic isn’t supposed to have existed for that long. Although, Mystogan did mention that their magic works differently from ours. Maybe there were other kinds of magic back then? Stuff that’s been lost or forgotten?”

Cana decided to speak up. “Where did you get this book anyway?”

“The master got it from a friend in the council. Apparently it came from Bosco, and has been out of print for a while.” Levy answered.

“Okay. Assuming what you’re saying is true, what do we do about it? What did the master say?” Cana said.

“Nothing yet. At least, not to me. I’m sure he has something in mind, but I guess we’ll have to wait to find out what it is.” Levy said.

“I hope it doesn’t take him too long to decide. I want to deal with this sooner than later.” Gray said.

“I think we can all agree on that.” Cana agreed. The rest of the group nodded; they all felt the same way.

***  
“How much further? Not that I’m complaining, just curious.” Lisanna said. She was walking through a lightly wooded area. In contrast to Fiore, which was currently cold and grey, Bosco enjoyed a warmer climate, so the trees and flowers were still full and colorful. The foliage looked exotic. Some of it was green, but there were also shades of blue and even purple. Lisanna thought it made for some breathtaking scenery. She just wished there were time to stop and appreciate it more. This was her first time getting to really go out and see the country. If only it were under better circumstances.

“Not too much further Lis, just up ahead.” Lisanna had actually asked Boudica the question, but Seraiisa answered instead. Others traveling with them included Sael, some of Sael’s mechanized creations, and several of Boudica’s robed followers. Lisanna was surprised that none of the keepers were accompanying them, considering where they were going.

Lisanna turned to Seraiisa. “I was just thinking how beautiful your country is. I’d love to see the rest of it.”

“Yeah, its pretty nice. But it sure has changed a lot in some ways.” Seraiisa replied.

“Changed a lot? What do you mean?” Lisanna asked. But Seraiisa didn’t answer, just smiled at her. _What a strange girl she is,_ Lisanna thought.

After walking for several more minutes, the path opened up, and they came to a large hill. They walked to the top of the hill, and looked down at what lie ahead of them. Boudica stepped in front of the group, spread her arms, and turned around to face them. “We’re here.” She said. Below them was what appeared to be a group of wooden buildings, along with armored people moving about. It was some sort of settlement. Boudica had described it to Lisanna as the base of the enemy.

Boudica spoke again. “Prepare yourselves. They are our enemy, one among several. And today they will be dealt with.” Boudica sounded righteous and commanding, but Lisanna couldn’t help feel apprehension at her words. Although she didn’t know it at the time, this would be a day that Lisanna would never forget.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was originally going to have an additional scene with Wendy in this chapter, but i decided it wasn't very interesting, so I cut it. I still have plans for her later on though.
> 
> I don't know how anyone reading this feels about the Lucy/Loke stuff. I didn't just include that for the sake of titillation. One of the reasons I included it, was actually as a reaction to how sexuality is often handled in anime (not just Fairy Tail). You often see "fanservice", but rarely see characters actually having sex. I'm not talking about porn, I'm talking about characters just having sex because they want to, without embarrassment, or coercion, or anything. I guess maybe you could say that I'm approaching the sexuality from a more western perspective. Of course, I still tried to keep them at least somewhat in character here, hence Lucy's conflicted feelings about this.
> 
> Anyway, I know the last couple chapters have been a little exposition heavy, but the next one should have more action.


	18. Shadow Kings

Lisanna stood atop the large hill, looking down on the town, or base as Boudica called it. Standing beside Lisanna were her, for lack of a better word, companions. Boudica herself, Sael, and some of their followers. Boudica had also mentioned that others would be joining them soon. She hadn’t explained in detail what exactly the plan was here. Boudica had mentioned that the town below was called Catena, but not much else about it. But Lisanna knew that the intention was to attack this place. Lisanna turned to Boudica.

“Excuse me, Boudica. I need to ask you something.” Boudica turned towards her, and approached. “What is it, child?” she said. Lisanna noticed she tended to call people “child”. Not Sael or the other two though. They were different.

“Who exactly are these people? I know you said they’re enemies, but why? What did they do? I mean, I’m just not sure if this is something I should be… taking part in.” Lisanna actually wasn’t sure if any of this should be happening.

Boudica put a hand on Lisanna’s shoulder. “I know things are still a little confusing for you. I probably should have taken more time to explain things to you. But things have been so busy, so much to do. Just know this: the people down there are evil. Not all of them mind, but the ones in charge certainly.” Lisanna looked down with uncertainty.

“You’re not planning to destroy the town, are you?” she asked. Boudica laughed. “Why would I want to do that? What would that accomplish? As I said, it’s the people in charge that are the problem. I would like to liberate the town, and welcome them to our cause. But a certain amount of violence will probably be necessary to accomplish that. Does that bother you?” Lisanna tilted her head a little while thinking about this.

“I’m not exactly a pacifist. At least, I don’t think I am? Fighting bad people is one thing, but… I don’t want to kill anyone.” She said. Boudica slowly nodded at these words. “I understand. Really. But let me just say this; there are times when we all have to do things we don’t want to. But as long as its for a greater good, you can rest with a clean conscience. Having said that, no one is going to force you to fight if you don’t want to. But it would be greatly appreciated if you contributed.” Lisanna nodded, still looking unsure. “Okay. I’ll try to help.” She said quietly.

“Lisanna, I believe this will make more sense for you soon enough. Just be patient.” With that, Boudica left Lisanna and walked over towards her followers, seemingly instructing them about something.

To Lisanna’s surprise, Sael came over towards her. He was in his bronze throne/chair. At first, she thought it was odd she never really saw him out of it. But then she realized it was because he couldn’t be out of it. He was unable to walk. She didn’t know the specifics, but she’d been told it was some sort of disease that afflicted him when he entered adolescence. This chair had been built for him to allow him to move around. It was powered through magic and technology, just like Sael’s own machine creations. It currently allowed him to hover a foot off the ground as he approached her.

“Hello Miss Strauss. Are you ready for this whole mess that’s about to happen? Don’t get me wrong, I agree with what Boudica says, but I’ve no doubt this will be messy.” Sael addressed her. He adjusted his spectacles to see her better. Lisanna was surprised that he came up to her like this, since they hadn’t spoken much before. Whenever she saw him he always seemed more interested in working on his machines, or discussing things with Boudica and the others.

“To be honest, I don’t know. I’m not sure what’s going to happen. I feel like I’m getting involved in something I shouldn’t.” Lisanna said. Sael waved a hand.

“Nonsense. You belong here as much as any of us do. We all came from different places originally you know. Yoshimoto came from far in the east, and Boudica wandered around… er, Bosco, for quite some time gathering followers, not staying in one place. And I came from a place very different from where we are now.” Sael said.

“What was that place called?” Lisanna asked, curious. Sael paused a moment, as if he was deciding whether or not to tell her. “Duram. It was a small country, but beautiful. I wish you could have seen it.” Lisanna noticed his use of past tense.

“What do you mean, what happened to it?” she said.

“It’s a long story. Let’s just say it doesn’t exist anymore.”

“Hmm. Maybe you could tell me about it sometime. When there’s time for a long story.” Lisanna replied. Sael put his hand to his chin. “Really? Well, yes. I suppose we could do that. I think I’d like that. You’re the first person who ever asked.” He said. In that moment, Lisanna actually thought he looked kind of cute. Not in a romantic way, but more like how her brother Elfman looked as a kid. Some people thought he was a dork, with his stuffy clothes and meek personality, but she thought he was cute. _Wait, I didn’t remember that before_ , Lisanna thought to herself.

Her memories of her siblings, and Fairy Tail as a whole, were fragmentary at best. But she suddenly had this clear image of what Elfman looked like as a kid, and even what he sounded like. Lisanna’s thoughts were interrupted by Boudica walking up to her again.

“The others should be here any time now. Then we’ll get this done. Are you ready?” she asked. Lisanna stared for a moment. “What’s wrong?” Boudica asked.

“I just remembered something about Elfman, my brother. I couldn’t remember before, but I just recalled something from childhood. I can see what he looked like and everything.” Lisanna explained. Boudica frowned.

“Are you sure those are real memories? It could be your mind trying to create comforting thoughts for you. Which is understandable, but don’t mistake that for reality.” Lisanna shook her head. “I… don’t think so. It seems real to me.” Boudica grabbed both of Lisanna’s shoulders, which caught her off guard.

“Yes, it seems real. But remember that Elfman killed you. And remember what your sister was like. I know you care about her, but she was called the “she-devil”, wasn’t she? That was for a reason. They weren’t good people, Lisanna.” As Boudica explained this, less pleasant images came to her mind. Elfman as a beast, and Mirajane gleefully fighting and hurting people for fun. Boudica continued. “That’s not all. Why do you think Natsu left the guild? It wasn’t just for you and Erza. He left because he was disgusted with what Fairy Tail had become. People hurting and killing for fun and personal gain. Villains. I didn’t want to say this earlier, but Fairy Tail is not a place you want to go back to.”

As Boudica said these things, Lisanna could visualize some of what Boudica was saying. She felt anger. Especially when Boudica spoke of her brother and sister. When Boudica talked about how evil they all were, Lisanna felt this anger within her rising up. It made her head hurt. _Is this how I really feel? Is this how I’ve always felt about them? Are they really so horrible? Do I hate them? This anger_ … These confused thoughts swam around Lisanna’s head as Boudica spoke. But before this could go any further, a loud noise interrupted. It was loud but guttural screaming.

Boudica and Lisanna both turned towards the town where they saw a few armored soldiers running up towards them. They appeared to be wearing some kind of wooden and copper armor. They carried spears. As they charged, Boudica looked annoyed. Sael spoke up. “Looks like they decided not to wait for us to come down. Should I send my-“ he said, but Boudica cut him off. “No, I’ll handle this.”

Boudica raised her hand, in a motion as if she was calling something up from the ground. Seconds later, a bright beam of light burst up from the ground under the soldiers, leaving a crater and knocking them to the ground. One of them was unfortunate enough to be in the center of it, and was badly burned with steam coming off of him. He wasn’t moving. A second was only caught in part of the blast, but was knocked to the ground hard. He was moving, but appeared blinded from the light. The third, the commander, had managed to dodge most of the attack. He rolled and brought up a crossbow and quickly fired it at Boudica. This caught her off guard, and hit her in the shoulder. She appeared annoyed rather than angry. The commander attempted to reload his crossbow, but something quickly moved towards him. It was one of Sael’s mechanized beasts. In this case, a mechanical crab the size of a bear. It moved surprisingly fast towards the soldier, who quickly pulled out a dagger to defend himself. But the machine used its large pincer to crush his lower arm, cracking the armor. After a second it then cut off his hand, leaving him screaming on the ground. The machine finished him off with both its pincers, rather forcefully.

Lisanna had watched all of this play out, and was uncomfortable with what had happened, for various reasons. The commander died a rather violent death, although he had injured Boudica. Lisanna then looked to the other woman, concerned. But Boudica just pulled the arrow out, and pressed her other hand to the bloody wound. It healed within seconds.

“Are you alright?” Lisanna asked. Boudica still looked at the area the wound had been. “Yes, I’m fine. But I shouldn’t have let that happen. How careless of me.” She then turned upwards to see someone else approaching from the side. Lisanna thought it might be another attack, but she recognized some of the people coming towards them.

Arnok the barbarian king. He was half naked as usual, but also wearing a cape and something on his head. It was an animal skull with antlers. It sort of looked like a deer’s skull, only bigger and more menacing looking. Maybe some animal she never saw before. There was also Yoshimoto, wearing his full armor, including helmet. He was accompanied by some of his soldiers. And there was also a woman Lisanna hadn’t met. Lisanna had seen her once before, and learned that her name was Angel. She was wearing white feathers, and Lisanna noticed that she also had white hair like herself. She didn’t look friendly though. In fact, as soon as Angel saw her, she sneered. Lisanna didn’t know how to react to that. Regardless, she wasn’t expecting all of them to be here for this fight.

“I was wondering when you all would show up.” Sael said. Arnok scoffed. Yoshimoto looked down at the base. “I can’t stay here long. I have other matters to attend to.” He said.

“That’s fine Lord Yoshimoto, just help us break into the place.” Sael said.

“You can just stay up here and provide support. You won’t have to do any fighting.” Boudica added. The samurai stiffened, sensing a slight, but he said nothing.

Boudica turned to the group. “Everyone, prepare yourselves. We’re about to begin.

***  
Boudica and the others made their final preparations, setting marks and performing rituals. Lisanna stood there without much to do but wait. She felt a gentle wind blowing through her hair, and observed the half cloudy and half sunny sky. She could almost feel that it was a sleepy, quiet day. Except she knew about the violence that was about to happen, so she just felt tense. She decided to try focusing on her different animal forms, and see how many of them she could remember.

The soldiers below began coming out of the front gate. Catena was surround by low walls, and to the sides of the town were two large opaque domes in the ground. A small group of people not dressed in armor came out front. They were not soldiers, but mages. Three of them. Boudica knew that this place, for certain reasons, didn’t have any mage guilds, but she was still expecting at least a few mages like this. After the mages were outside, the gate was resealed behind them.

As Boudica watched them, Angel walked over towards her, with something on her mind. Boudica turned to her. “What is it, child?” Boudica asked. Angel paused, and looked back at Lisanna, several yards away near Sael. She turned back to Boudica. “Why does she need to be here? She’s… a demon.” Boudica smiled.

“Part demon, yes. Although she was born human.” She replied. Angel scowled. “It doesn’t matter. She’s still disgusting. Besides, isn’t she related to that other woman from Fairy Tail? The one who…”

“You ran from?” Boudica suggested.

“I wouldn’t put it like that.” Angel said defensively. Boudica looked amused. “Its fine. I don’t blame you. I’m sure she was terrifying. And yes, they are related. Sisters actually. Is that the problem?”

“I’m not afraid of her, I just don’t want her here.” Angel said.

“I understand. But Lisanna can be helpful to us. Yes, she is part demon. But she can still serve a good cause. After all, you cooperated with dark magic when you were with the Oracion Seis. It’s a tool. Sometimes you fight fire with fire, darkness with darkness. But light always prevails in the end. And we will prevail, because we are the light.” Boudica then hugged Angel, which the latter was not expecting.

“I uh, y-yes. I understand. That makes sense.” She stammered. Boudica released her. “Go Angel, and help us cast out the devils.” Angel nodded. “Yes, Boudica.” Angel went off to take position. They then spent another minute preparing. The soldiers below did not send anyone else up. Instead, they waited just outside the town, maintaining the homefield advantage.

“Apparently they’re not that stupid. But it won’t change the outcome.” Boudica said. She began marching forward and waved the others along, Arnok and Angel following. Lisanna hesitantly went along with them. She was unsure what they expected her to do. She was aware that her strength had increased from the “modifications”, but she was never the best fighter in Fairy Tail. She knew that much at least. As for Yoshimoto and Sael; the samurai lord stayed on the hill and prepared spells through chanting. Sael went down the hill, but kept his distance from the others. His machines went ahead of him.

The group, including Lisanna, approached the front of the gate to the town. Lisanna thought this was a strange and risky way of approaching, since the town was walled, and they had crossbows and at least a few mages. But she decided that her companions must know what they’re doing. It was obvious that at least some of them were quite experienced at combat. She just hoped this wouldn’t turn into a bloodbath.

As they approached the gate, the mages from Catena stepped forward to meet them. The one in the middle held up a hand and said, “Okay, that’s far enough.” Lisanna sensed that he was the leader of the three. He was a youngish looking man, with dark hair and silver streaks that looked like lighting bolts. He wore dark pants and a sleeveless white shirt, and long wristbands on his arms. His fashion sense made him stand out from everyone else here.

“And who might you be?” Boudica said. Lisanna wasn’t surprised that out of all of them Boudica would be the one to speak up, since she seemed to be the closest thing they had to a diplomat. The man answered.

“I _might_ be called Strike. And for good reason. But trust me, you don’t wanna find out why. And what do you call yourself, lady?” Boudica smiled at him. “You can call me Boudica, as everyone does.” She looked like she was about to say something else, but one of the other two mages interrupted.

“My name is Luchuk, and she’s Pagan.” The young mage to the right of Strike said this, referring to himself and the female mage on the left. Strike, without turning around, said, “I didn’t tell you to introduce yourself. Let me do the talking here.” This was directed at Luchuk, who looked slightly embarrassed. Lisanna looked at him and the other mage. Luchuk looked like a teenager, maybe the same age as Lisanna herself, if not younger. Compared to Strike he was dressed in more shabby clothes. Brown leathers and grey cloth. He also had messy blonde hair and freckles.

As for Pagan, it was hard to tell how old she was. She wore a green cloak with a hood, and a somewhat short brown dress. She had rustic jewelry, like charms and pendants hanging from necklaces. She also had pale skin with white and red paint on her face, along with bright green eyes. She just stared from under her hood.

“So, I take it you three are the defenders of this town?” Boudica resumed. Strike looked at her, and folded his arms. “We’re the first line of defense, but there’s plenty more behind us. Not that you’ll get past us.”

Boudica spread her hands. “We don’t need to fight. We can just talk.”

“Oh, you want to talk? Is that all? Then what’s with the death machines and soldiers behind you?” Strike said.

“They’re for protection. In case you decide you don’t want to talk, and turn hostile. After all, we have had several unfortunate encounters with your soldiers before. You even sent some up to attack us before we even came near a few minutes ago.” Boudica said. Strike narrowed his eyes.

“Uh huh. Look, we know who you are.”

“Do you?” Boudica said.

“Yeah. Or at least, we know who you’re supposed to be. ‘Shadow Kings’. But I don’t believe in those fairy tales.” Boudica smiled again, showing her teeth. “Fairy tales?” she said.

“That’s right. Now look. I’ve got nothing to say to you, and you’ve got nothing to say that I want to hear. So here’s how it goes. I’m going to give you thirty seconds to get out of here. Away from my town, and then get out of my country.” Strike replied. Boudica’s face darkened, despite retaining her smile. “It was my country long before it was yours, child.” She said.

“Twenty nine, twenty eight…” Strike began counting. At that point Arnok stepped forward. “Enough of this!” he said, as he threw his large fist right at Strike. Strike dodged it and stepped back, preparing himself. Arnok’s fist had left a small crater in the ground. He then threw another fist at Pagan, who didn’t have time to react. His fist hit something solid. But instead of the girl, he hit a shield, magical in nature. Luchuk had summoned the shield to protect her.

“Get away from her.” The young man growled. He was able to expand the shield a little, forcing Arnok to back off, and giving Pagan time to move back to a safer spot. Arnok pounded against the shield several times, until it broke from the force.

“What?!” Luchuk said, not expecting this. Arnok, having demonstrated his immense strength, advanced on them. Strike called down a powerful lightning bolt from the sky towards Arnok, narrowly missing his opponent. Seconds later, Sael’s machines advanced, and Luchuk called up several shields in midair to slow them down.

While all of this was happening, Pagan went back several feet, and put her hands to the ground. In a voice that sounded like a hoarse whisper, she began reciting an incantation. “Forces of nature, heed my call, come to my aid.” As she said that, the ground rumbled and split open. Something began growing out of the earth. It was two trees, growing larger by the second. They had what appeared to be faces. Large fangs, and glowing eye slits. The two tree monsters then sprouted something like arms. Not just two, but several. They were forces of nature that managed to look quite unnatural.

Sael sent a few smaller machines that resembled hawks over to the trees, but they were quickly grabbed out of the air and crushed. Witnessing all of this, Boudica turned to Lisanna and Angel. “I think now would be a good time for you two to get involved. Show them what you’re capable of. What we’re capable of.”

“Of course, Boudica.” Angel said. She pulled out a celestial key, and summoned Scorpio. Scorpio quickly fired sand bursts at the trees, while Pagan hid behind them. Scorpio concentrated on blasting one tree, which didn’t seem to be doing serious damage, but at least it kept the creature occupied. Seraiisa, who had accompanied them down here, decided to help Angel by using her mental force magic.

“What should I do?” Lisanna asked.

“You have animal soul. Use it.” Boudica said, as if stating the obvious. “Right.” Lisanna said hesitantly. She hadn’t used her animal soul since that time she turned into a bird. The experience had unnerved her. But she was being called on to fight now, so she knew she couldn’t put it off any longer. “Here goes nothing.” she said. She concentrated. This time, instead of a bird, she tried something a little different. She decided to change into her harpy form. Part bird, part human. It was one of her more effective forms for combat, and at least this way some part of her would still remain human, instead of looking like a complete demon-animal like before. It made her feel a little more comfortable.

Lisanna assumed that her harpy form would look similar to her bird form, with black feathers. She was mostly right, although the tips of her wings were red now. She turned to look at her tail, and noticed that it now had large spikes attached to it. “Yikes. I should remember not to sit down in this form.” She muttered to herself.

“Excellent.” Boudica said, putting her hands together as she admired Lisanna’s new form. “You know what to do now, right?” she said. Lisanna nodded, and took flight. As she got to the air and scanned around, she noted there were several targets to attack. The trees were obvious, but would be hard for her to take on with her abilities. _Although, I did knock that one tree down when I was a bird,_ she thought. She sometimes had to remind herself that not only had her appearance changed, but her powers as well. The truth is, she still wasn’t entirely sure what she was capable of, and what her limitations were. She would rather not have to find out what her limits are during a life or death battle, so she was being a little cautious.

Scanning further, Lisanna observed the mages. Luchuk was raising his magic shields, and taking him out would make things easier. Then there was Strike. He was calling down lighting bolts at the machines and Scorpio. But she noticed that he was only calling lightning from the sky, none of it was coming from his own body. _So he can only cast lightning from the sky, she thought. That will definitely limit what he can do._ But as she thought this, he noticed her and began aiming his attacks at her. She was able to dodge in midair, but it did come uncomfortably close.

 _Flying up here does make me more of a target_. She noted to herself. She decided to divebomb towards Strike. Halfway there one of the tree monsters grabbed her, halting her assault. It squeezed her in its “hand”. She struggled with all her might, but she knew it was unlikely she would be able to break free with how huge the creature is. But to her surprise, she did exactly that. She broke the trees appendage to splinters with a loud crack, pieces of wood flying about. _Guess I don’t know my own strength_ , she thought.

She took the opportunity to fly straight at the creature’s eye, and slashed at it with her talons. The thing let out a roar, signaling its pain. It attacked her with its limbs. Initially she dodged, but one of them batted her away, back into the open air. Before she could recover from that, arrows flew towards her from the wall. The soldiers saw her as an obvious target and took advantage. One of the arrows hit her in the wing. Lisanna grimaced, and did a slow fall to the ground with her good wing. She managed to avoid a hard landing. She changed back into her human, or semi-human, form. She noticed Boudica standing a few yards back, watching everything, but not doing much.

“Boudica, I think we could use your help.” Lisanna said.

“I’m waiting to see what you do first.” Boudica replied. Lisanna didn’t know how to respond to that. _Is this another test? Doesn’t seem like the best time for it_. Since the sky was too dangerous, Lisanna decided to try a ground assault. She transformed into her cat form. She only vaguely remembered the cat form. In this form, she was still humanoid, but with some feline alterations. And such was the case here. She looked down at her body.

“This seems familiar.” She said to herself. The color scheme wasn’t that different from before this time. She didn’t suddenly have black fur with spikes. But there were a few changes. Her claws were bigger and sharper. And she had gained some muscle too. She more closely resembled a large wild cat than a house cat. She noticed there was something different about her vision too. Although she couldn’t see it, her eyes were now closer to a cat’s than a human’s, albeit with the same colors (right blue and red left).

“I feel… stronger.” She said. Boudica was watching her, and chimed in. “Yes, and you look it. Although, that is an… interesting choice of outfit.” Her commentary caused Lisanna to look down at her attire, such as it was. Her clothes consisted only of a bikini. Her memory was still very faulty, but she had a hard time coming up with an explanation for why she’d be wearing a bikini in this form. She shrugged. “It keeps me cool?” she said.

“I’m sure.” Boudica said. She then pointed to the battle going on behind Lisanna.

“Right, I’m on it.” Lisanna said, and ran back into the fray. Lisanna wasn’t sure how she felt about fighting. While she couldn’t remember much of her past, she felt that she wasn’t morally opposed to fighting. Although she didn’t remember being in any specific fights before. Unlike her sister, whom she knew loved to fight, and was quite good at it.

Half the reason Lisanna was reluctant to go along on this mission (for lack of a better word) was because she wasn’t entirely sure what the fight was over. And even now, it still wasn’t fully clear to her. But she decided to trust Boudica and the others, and hoped that that trust would be justified in the end.

She was also reluctant because she was afraid. Or at least, she was expecting to be afraid. Again, Lisanna couldn’t remember fighting before, and she felt that if she was suddenly thrust into a violent situation, then she would be too scared to do anything, even with her enhanced strength. But now that she was here, she wasn’t scared. At least, not nearly as much as she thought she would be. It was certainly an adrenaline rush for her, and was a lot more exciting than being stuck in the valley all the time. She felt like she wanted to see what else she could do.

Lisanna started running back towards the tree monster she had been fighting. She started running on all fours, which may have looked a little silly, but she found it was faster. Two of Sael’s machines, both humanoid in form, were fighting the monster. They were quite large, but were still having trouble with it. Lisanna arrived in time to see one of their heads get knocked off by a tree limb. She wasted no time in testing out the power of her cat form, and began clawing at the trunk of the creature. As she slashed at it, large chunks of bark came flying off. The monster reacted, and made efforts to smash her into the ground. But she was faster, and could outmaneuver it. She ran around its base slashing at the trunk, leaving large claw marks and slashes. The tree was very limited in its mobility, while Lisanna was very fast and agile in her current form. She took advantage of this. She clawed at it again and again, scoring the wood, while the creature roared above her.

Lisanna’s attack on the tree lasted about a minute. After that, she got winded and had to stop. _Did I do any real damage?_ She thought. She looked at the creature, and saw that she had actually done quite a lot of damage. About half its trunk was torn away. Sap oozed out of it as if it was bleeding. It used its remaining limbs to support itself. But it was still standing, so to speak.

The tree-creature turned its full attention to Lisanna, despite the one machine still attacking it with bladed limbs. The tree reached out a “hand” towards her. She moved to run, but was out of breath. _I need to improve my stamina_ , she thought. Her next thought was less coherent as the thing’s hand came directly towards her, and she didn’t think she could dodge it this time. _I can’t die here_ , she thought. The next thing she heard was a cracking sound. It was the tree’s arm, broken off. The person responsible, to her surprise, was Arnok, the barbarian king.

Arnok tore its limbs off with his bare hands, one by one. He then tossed the now inert wood aside and ran straight towards its mass. He reared back his arm, and slammed it fist first into the weakened area Lisanna had been attacking. This turned out to be the finishing blow. It toppled over and fell to the ground with a tremendous impact. Fortunately, it didn’t fall on Lisanna, but Sael’s machine man was crushed.

Arnok admired his handiwork for a moment. Lisanna wondered if he had deliberately tried to save her, or if he just wanted to wreck the creature. As she looked at him with his blood red cape and animal skull headpiece, she decided it was probably the latter. The huge man then stalked off to find another opponent., further away.

Lisanna crouched near the fallen tree, taking a minute to catch her breath. There was still a battle going on, but she needed a minute to recover. She heard footsteps nearby. She turned and saw Angel, accompanied by a timid looking pink haired girl she had never seen before. Notably, the girl also had horns sticking out of her head. _Is she part demon like me?_ Lisanna thought. But then she realized the girl was probably another one of Angel’s spirits that she summoned for help. Angel suddenly noticed Lisanna crouched by the tree and gave her a dirty look. _Maybe the fact that I’m part demon bothers her_ , she thought.

“Aries, what are you doing? You’re supposed to be protecting me! Use some defensive spells, and stay close to me. Be my shield.” Angel berated Aries, and Aries apologized to her mistress. _Or maybe she’s just a bitch_ , Lisanna finished her thought from before. Lisanna couldn’t help giggling at her own mental comment, since she knew she wouldn’t say something like that out loud.

“What are you laughing at?” Angel asked, annoyed. Lisanna stood up. “Nothing at all. In fact, I should get back to the fight.” She said, and quickly turned and ran over to where the main fighting was happening. Lisanna thought she heard Angel saying something derogatory behind her, but she ignored it.

Lisanna couldn’t help but notice that, aside from the trees, it didn’t seem like either side was going all out so far. They both seemed to be holding back. She wondered if that meant that there was a chance that this could be resolved before things went too far. Maybe neither side really wanted to fight. Or was there another reason?

She found Strike, Luchuk, and Pagan holding off a few samurai and barbarian warriors, belonging to Yoshimoto and Arnok respectively. The three of them were surrounded by an array of metal poles. Strike was calling down lightning that was striking the poles, and Luchuk created a large shield that surrounded the poles. The electricity combined with the shield to create a seemingly impenetrable barrier, protecting the three of them. At the same time, Pagan , kneeling and with her hands to the ground, summoned more allies. Just outside the shield, several creatures rose out of the ground. Not trees this time. Much smaller. They were spriggans, about the size of a man. The were humanoid in shape, but obviously plants. They were androgynous in appearance, with a few looking more feminine. Several of them rose, and quickly assumed a hostile stance towards the group of outsiders.

Vines grew from their bodies and attacked Arnok’s warriors, as well as Arnok himself. Arnok was strong enough to break the vines though, and could take care of himself. Other spriggans ran towards the group. Two of them moved on Sael, who currently didn’t have any machines to guard himself. He had sent them all into the fight earlier. Their vines wrapped around his chair, immobilizing it. Lisanna saw this and pounced on one of the spriggans, straddling its back. It tried to grab her, but instead Lisanna grabbed it’s head and ripped it off. It got to its knees, but the vines were still attached to Sael’s chair. She slashed them with her claws. The other spriggan used its vines to grabs Lisanna’s arms, and approached her. Lisanna struggled, but the vines were tight. It opened a mouth full of teeth on its “head”. It intended to eat her. It lifted her off the ground, but she began clawing at it with her feet. She did this frantically, shredding its entire front side until it dropped her. She landed on her feet with knees bent, and slowly rose. Lisanna looked over to see that Yohimoto still had two samurai with him that could have helped. They were still guarding their master though. Boudica again chose not to intervene either. Lisanna wondered if Boudica was willing to let them die, or if it was another test. _Or maybe she just had confidence in me? I want to believe that._ “Thank you Lisanna. I appreciate your help. I really should carry something with me for self defense.” Sael said.

Lisanna shrugged. “You don’t have to thank me. I’m sure you’d have done the same for me.” Sael didn’t respond to this, and just sat there. Boudica finally took this moment to step forward.

“Everyone listen to me.” Boudica said to those nearby, including Lisanna and Sael. “I can help, but you need to believe in me. Believe that I can stop Strike’s lighting. _Believe in it._ Then we can take them.” Boudica said this quite insistently. Sael closed his eyes and appeared to be reflecting, or… praying? Arnok, hearing her, had stepped back from the fight and also appeared to bow his head. This struck Lisanna as odd, since she never got the impression that Arnok had much reverence for her. Boudica’s followers (she had brought about a dozen of them) were also praying, but more fervently. They were on their hands and knees bowing to her. Angel was still busy with the other tree, so she wasn’t there, otherwise she probably would have joined in.

“You too Lisanna. I need your support right now.” Boudica said. Lisanna didn’t want to get on her hands and knees, so she just bowed her head and thought about how she believed (somehow) Boudica could stop Strike’s lightning. She thought about this, but felt silly. She didn’t believe praying would help. But she tried anyway. She did believe in Boudica, who had brought her back from the dead, and used magic she had never seen before, and commanded respect from her followers. And then then she felt something. And saw something. A golden glow, coming from Boudica. She looked up, and saw the woman, radiant. Boudica raised her hands to the sky, as if she could touch the clouds. She parted her hands. But that’s not all. Lisanna noticed that the clouds in the sky began to part as well. It had been fairly cloudy, which was where Strike had drawn his attacks from. But the clouds were moving away, leaving bright sunlight around the area. The lightning stopped. Strike, for his part, looked dumbfounded by this.

“This would be a good time to attack them.” Boudica said. Arnok wasted no time in running back into the fray. Three of the spriggans moved in Boudica’s direction. Boudica responded by raising her hands again. As the three moved closer, her hands shook, and something materialized in from of her. It was two large spheres of light, but formed into the shape of her hands. She clapped her hands together, and the ‘light hands” also came together, crushing the spriggans. The three of them were squeezed, and began smoking form the heat. Finally, the magical light departed, dropping the three of them to the ground, crushed and burned. Boudica looked a little spent after two such displays of power in a row.

With the lightning field gone, Arnok and his warriors were able to break through the shield fairly quickly. The mage trio quickly separated, spreading out from each other. Strike was unable to call his lightning for the moment, but he was at least able to use his magic to give himself a boost of physical power. He then grabbed one of the poles out of the ground to use as a weapon. Arnok went after him alone.

Meanwhile, Lisanna tried to decide on her next attack. She was still in cat form, but could only maintain that form a little longer. She had to act fast. She looked at Luchuk, who was already throwing up more midair shields. But then she noticed Pagan, who was pulling something out of her clothes. It was some kind of weapon. Pagan quickly pulled it up and aimed it, and several arrows launched from it. It was a variation of a crossbow. Lisanna narrowly dodged one of the arrows. She could hear it go by in her ear. She rolled, and prepared to counterattack. But out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Boudica down on one knee. Lisanna looked over, and saw an arrow sticking out of Boudica’s throat. She had been hit. Blood was pouring out. Lisanna quickly ran over to her, as Boudica fell to the ground. Lisanna wanted to help her. But her instincts told her to keep her guard up, and she turned back to Pagan, who was readying another shot.

Lisanna got up and ran towards Pagan as fast as she could. Luchuk threw up shields to block Lisanna, but she used her cat-like agility to jump over and on top of the shields, bounding off of them. She could move faster than he could raise his shields. Lisanna leapt high, and came down directly towards Pagan, who put her arm up defensively. At the last second Luchuk rushed over and pushed Psgan out of the way, so Lisanna landed on him with her outstretched claw instead. She crashed into him, her feet going into his midsection and her hand pushing his head into the ground with force.

Lisanna reared up her other hand to follow up, but then paused. He wasn’t moving, and didn’t seem to be a threat anymore. She touched his head, and heard a crunching sound. She looked closer at him, and realized his neck was broken. He wasn’t breathing either. Lisanna realized that he was dead. She had killed him. Lisanna recoiled in horror. She tried standing up, but stumbled and fell backwards onto the ground. She sat there staring at Luchuk’s corpse. This was the first time she had ever killed someone. At least, she couldn’t remember ever killing anyone before. _I never did anything like this before… did I? I don’t think so. I would remember, wouldn’t I? I… I didn’t mean to kill him._ Lisanna thought all of these things to herself as she stared at the body. When she landed on him, the impact was greater than she had intended. She still wasn’t used to the enhanced strength of her new body. She had only intended to wound him, maybe knock him unconscious. _I think that’s what I was trying to do, I didn’t mean to kill him_ , she thought to herself.

As Lisanna sat there on the ground, Pagan had come over to Luchuk’s body. She knelt beside him and placed a hand on his head. Lisanna barely noticed. But then, Strike came running over screaming and brandishing the pole he had grabbed. He was aiming it, point first, at Lisanna. She _did_ notice this, and quickly rolled out of the way as he ran at her. He narrowly missed her, burying the pole into the ground instead of Lisanna’s torso. She scrambled to get up, but found that she was slower than before. She noticed that she was no longer in cat form, and realized that she must have changed back just after killing the boy. She had used up so much magical power that she found she was unable to transform again, so she had to do what she could in her current form.

She managed to get to her feet, and Strike stood there several feet away looking angry. “You killed him you little bitch. Now I’ll kill you!” Lisanna edged back a little, knowing full well he meant it. She couldn’t use animal soul for the time being, which left her at a disadvantage. On the other hand, he couldn’t use his magic either. _Maybe I can take him like this_ , she thought. She hadn’t tried fighting in her “normal form” since her resurrection, and wasn’t really sure how combat capable she was like this. As it turned out, she didn’t get the chance to find out in that moment.

Booming footsteps could be heard approaching. “We’re not done, little man. If you can defeat me, then you can finish fighting the little girl.” Arnok said as he approached. Strike turned towards the giant, and swung the pole at him, which Arnok caught with his hand. He casually threw it aside. Arnok stood there and said “Is that all you’re capable of?” In response, Strike used his power to summon lightning from the sky. It might have been a desperation move, but it worked. A bolt came crashing down and struck Arnok. The clouds had returned during the fighting, so Strike now had his favored weapon again. But Arnok still stood there.

Arnok laughed at Strike’s attempt. Confused, Strike called down two more bolts, watching Arnok glow from the voltage. But he still stood there. His tattoos glowed, and he laughed again. “My turn.” He said. He raised a hand and shot his own lightning back at Strike. This one came directly from Arnok instead of the sky. Strike was knocked back. Strike couldn’t be seriously hurt by electricity, but the force of the attack still sent him flying. As he got up, Arnok rushed over and grabbed him by the collar, lifting him into the air.

“How!?” Strike said. Arnok smiled cruelly. “You’ll never know. Just know that I’m the last thing you’ll ever see.” Arnok punched the man hard in the stomach, causing him to vomit. Some of it was red. The barbarian king then lifted Strike above his head and raised his knee.

“Don’t kill him!” Lisanna called. But he ignored her, and drove Strike abdomen first into his knee. The sound of ribs breaking could be heard. Arnok then lifted him a final time, and slammed the back of his head into the ground. Strike lay there with a blank expression. He had now joined Luchuk. Arnok laughed at his easy victory. Lisanna stood there and watched as this giant wearing an animal skull, covered in another man’s blood, stood there and laughed. Lisanna thought he looked like more of a demon then her.

Pagan had sat there watching all of this, and looked scared as hell. The three of them were supposed to be the best warriors Catena had, and now two of them had been killed in quick succession right in front of her. She got up and ran back towards the town gate. “Run, girl. You’re next.” Arnok spoke. Lisanna was shaken up by everything that had happened in the past few minutes. She felt coming here was a mistake. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. She panicked and spun around. She found Boudica in front of her.

“Its only me, Lisanna.” Boudica said. Lisanna blinked. “I… I thought you were dead.” She said. The older woman laughed. “It will take more than that to kill me. Its good to see you’re alive too.” She smiled warmly at Lisanna. Lisanna noticed the wound in her neck had already mostly healed. Boudica noticed her looking.

“You know I have healing powers. There’s no reason I can’t heal myself too. Admittedly, if it had been a little higher things might be different.” She explained. Lisanna looked over at Luchuk. “I killed him. But I didn’t mean to. Can you heal him? You can do that, right?” Boudica followed Lisanna’s gaze to the corpse.

“Maybe I could. But I won’t.” She answered.

“But why not?” Lisanna asked.” Boudica looked at Lisanna seriously. “Lisanna, listen to me. You did nothing wrong by killing him. It was a good thing. Some people need to die. People like him. He would have done the same to you if given the chance.”

“I know, but-“ Lisanna began.

“But nothing. Look, I know that it can be hard the first time you take a life. But it gets easier. I speak from experience.” Boudica said. _It gets easier?_ Lisanna thought. _Does that mean she expects me to do that again?_

Angel and Seraiisa walked up at that moment. “Finally finished that other stupid tree.” Angel said. She had two little blue creatures accompanying her. Lisanna didn’t know what they were. They were in fact Gemini, the celestial spirit.

“Good job. Seraiisa, you helped?” Boudica said. Seraiisa nodded proudly. “So, what now?” Angel asked. Boudica looked over at the gate. It was opening. Pagan was standing in from of it, but was still facing her opponents. She got to the ground on her hands and knees. Even though she was several yards away, she was speaking quite loudly, so they could all hear her. “Protectors, here my call, rise up and protect us from these invaders!” The armored soldiers began coming out of the now lowered gate, armed with spears and crossbows, and a few even had magically enhanced items. But those weren’t the protectors Pagan meant.

The two large domes at the side of the town began to shift, as did the earth around them. The domes slowly rose, gradually revealing something beneath. Something alive. As they rose higher out of the ground, it became clear what was underneath the domes: giant turtles. The domes were actually giant turtle shells. “Well, I wasn’t expecting that.” Angel said.

“Yeah, that’s something you don’t see every day.” Seraiisa concurred. Lisanna wasn’t sure what to think of anything anymore. Boudica just stood there and watched, folding her arms.

“Well, it looks like they’re finally showing all of their cards.” Boudica said. “So, I suppose we should too. No more playing around. Its time to show them what we’re really capable of.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was originally going to do this part as one chapter, but it ended up being longer than expected. So I'm splitting it into two chapters. It might seem like Lisanna is taking over as the main character here, but that's only temporary. Like I said, I intend for this story to be more of an ensemble, so different characters will get focus at different parts of the story. Although, some will obviously get more focus than others.


	19. Hallowed Land

“Giant turtles?” Lisanna said, unprepared for this turn of events. The two behemoths had risen out of the ground, soil and foliage falling from their bodies. They were both about the size of a large house. But even putting aside their size, they were clearly different from normal turtles. Their skin was rougher and harder, and their eyes were black and empty.

“Technically, yes. But it would actually be truer to say that they’re golems in the shape of turtles.” Boudica responded to Lisanna’s question.

“So, these people created giant turtle golems to defend the town?” Lisanna asked. Boudica shook her head. “They didn’t. These guardians were here long before the current inhabitants of this place. They just learned how to control them is all. But this isn’t the time for a history lesson. Ready yourself.”

“I think I used up most of my magical power.” Lisanna replied.

“Then take a few minutes to recover. But I might need you before this is over.” Boudica said. Lisanna wasn’t sure that a few minutes would be enough time for her to recover. Regardless, Angel chose this moment to interject.

“You don’t need her. You can count on me. I’ll use my spirits to destroy them.” She said. Boudica considered this as she looked down at Gemini. The small blue spirits kept their distance from her. “Yes, they take on the form of others, don’t they?” Boudica said. “What about the two mages lying over there?” she said, indicating Luchuk and Strike. Angel looked over at them.

“The… dead ones?” Angel said.

“Yes, the dead ones.” Boudica said, as if this was a normal suggestion. Angel looked at the corpses dubiously.

“Well, I suppose it might work, since they died only just a few minutes ago. I’ve never tried this before though.” The celestial mage said. Gemini went over to one of the bodies and touched it, which was required for the transformation. Fortunately for Angel, it worked. Gemini quickly began to change.

When Angel was deciding which one to choose, she had to choose between Luchuk’s defensive spells, or Strike’s offensive attacks. She chose Strike. “The best defense is a good offense.” She said. Gemini had transformed into a simulacrum of Strike. His appearance, his voice, and his power. Boudica and Angel were both pleased with the result. However, Lisanna felt unsettled, and not for the first time that day.

With that taken care of, Boudica briefly turned back to  
look at Yoshimoto, still on the hill. He was chanting something. “He should be nearly done. And now we should go help Arnok.” Boudica said. Arnok and his warriors had charged ahead again while Angel was preparing Gemini. Most of the samurai joined them. They were holding off the enemy for now, but needed help from the rest of the alliance.

“Lisanna, stay here for a few minutes and recover. I’ll tell you if I need you.” As soon as Boudica said this, she moved off with Angel and Seraiisa, and of course “Strike”. Lisanna wasn’t sure how long it would take her to recover, but she mentally prepared herself anyway. Sael stayed behind with her. He had no magic, and no machines left to fight. So, he could only watch. “It’s good that I came out here. It’s giving me ideas for how to improve my creations in the future. I feel like they should have made a better showing today.” Sael said. Lisanna was only half listening to him though. She was focused on the huge turtle-golems ahead. They slowly stepped forward, quaking the ground beneath them. Lisanna had no idea what Boudica and the others intended to do against those two behemoths. She watched as one of them ducked its head and snapped up one of the samurai in its large mouth. The warrior was crushed within.

As for the soldiers, dozens of them had come out of the gate. And the archers up on the wall were still backing them up. Boudica and Angel arrived. The numbers still favored the soldiers of the town. Lisanna wondered if her allies had underestimated the other side here. But then, she suddenly heard something. It was shouting from behind her. She turned and saw the samurai lord standing and chanting something, a circle around him glowing. He planted his sword into the ground, and what could best be described as black light came out. The black light spread outward toward the gate. It surrounded the soldiers, some of whom stopped to look at it, confused.

“This must be one of his illusions.” Lisanna said out loud. She was talking to herself, but Sael responded. “Actually, not quite. It’s true that he is adept at illusion magic, but he does have another, very special ability.” She wasn’t sure what he meant by this. As she watched, she saw shapes come out of the blackness. Humanoid shapes. They were like shadows, only moving on their own. They looked like warriors, clad in armor and carrying weapons. Except, they seemed as if they weren’t entirely there. They were dark, and it was hard to make out specific features on them, like faces. But if the light hit them a certain way, they almost looked like normal people.

“What are they?” Lisanna asked.

“They are Yoshimoto’s shadows, so to speak. He can call them from the shadow realm. They are warriors and mages who died long ago.” Sael explained.

“So, they’re like ghosts?” she asked.

“Hmm, not exactly. They aren’t really spirits. They’re more like echoes, or ‘shadows’ of people who once were. The shadows resemble those people, and even have some of their abilities, but they are _not_ those same people.”

“Oh, I see.” She said, although she still didn’t fully understand. “Just watch.” Sael told her. And so she did. They both watched as the shadow warriors materialized around the soldiers of Catena. The soldiers were confused, and tried attacking the shadows with their weapons, but the weapons just passed through them. But when the shadows attacked with their own weapons, they didn’t just pass through harmlessly. They drew blood, and cut open body parts, and elicited screams from the soldiers. There were more than a dozen of the shadowy wraiths attacking the soldiers, many of whom began to panic.

As this happened, Boudica smiled. “Let’s finish this.” She said. She raised her arms, and the ground beneath the soldiers cracked open, and light burst through. But not golden light like before, but white-hot light that seared whoever happened to be within it. Seraiisa used her mental abilities to pull some of the archers off the wall, and “Strike” called down some lightning bolts on them. The soldiers became overwhelmed, and most of the remaining ones fled back into the town. The alliance would have won at that moment if not for the two monsters still roaming.

While the shadows had attacked, Arnok attempted to take on one of the beasts himself. He smashed at its leg with his fists again and again, but only created a few dents. The other turtle stomped on most of the soldiers Arnok had brought with him. Gemini switched to attacking the turtle with lightning, which only seemed to slow it down at best.

Lisanna decided to get involved again. She ran towards the group, even though she wasn’t sure what she was going to do. She tried to think of a form that would be helpful. When she ran up to Boudica and Angel, she stopped to catch her breath.

“Lisanna, just in time. I need you now.” Boudica said. Lisanna looked up. “What should I do? How can I help?” Boudica pointed up to the head of one of those turtles.

“I need you to fly up there. Or more specifically, I need you to fly Arnok up there. Drop him on its head from above. I’ll come too, and finish it.” She said.

“You want me to take you both up there?” Lisanna asked. Boudica shook her head. “Just Arnok. I can get up there myself.” Golden wings emerged from Boudica’s back. Lisanna had seen her do that before, but had assumed it was just for show. “Oh Arnok…” Boudica called him over. He begrudgingly relented his assault to hear what she had to say. She quickly explained what she had in mind, and he actually agreed to it. Now Lisanna had to carry the huge man up to the top of the turtle. She transformed into her harpy form again. She grabbed him by the shoulders with her talons and took off.

Even with her increased strength he was still heavy for her, but she managed. She flew him above the golem’s head. “Drop me now.” He said. That sounded dangerous to her, but she decided it was best not to argue with him. She let go, and watched him fall some distance onto the head, landing on it with his fist punching into it. This made a small crater in its head. He then punched it several more times, creating cracks and fissures. _Doesn’t he ever get tired?_ Lisanna thought. Boudica then rose up to meet them. She used her wings, although it looked more like levitating than flying. She landed on the head next to Arnok. She put her hands into the fissures for several seconds and the familiar golden glow came out.

“Alright, it’s time to leave, right now. No time to explain.” Boudica levitated off the creature, and Lisanna grabbed the king again and took him down. Before they reached the ground again, a loud explosion could be heard. Lisanna looked up and saw that part of the creature’s head had been blown off. Presumably, Boudica’s magic was responsible. The part that came off was close to the neck, so the entire head began to come off. The golem slowly collapsed and fell to the ground, crashing into the wall, and possibly killing a few people.

As Lisanna landed on the ground, she transformed back to her regular appearance. She felt tired after using her magic so much. This was the most she had used her magic since her “rebirth”.

“I… don’t think I can do that again.” She said.

“Hopefully, you won’t have to.” Boudica replied. She looked over at the other turtle. It wasn’t coming after them, or guarding the gate. It was distracted with something else. Lord Yoshimoto and his few remaining samurai had finally come down to join the fight directly, albeit rather late. The warriors fired arrows at the creature, which caused it to lower its head to attack them.

The shadows joined in attacking the creature to distract it. While this was going on, Yoshimoto himself used his sword to slash into the turtle’s front leg. Most other weapons likely wouldn’t have done any real damage. But this was not an ordinary weapon. It was a special sword with a special power. It had been instrumental in the ritual to summon the shadows, and now the samurai used it to cut open a portal to the shadow realm itself, through the leg of the beast. The portal was only open for a few seconds, but when it closed a chunk of its leg was gone. The turtle tipped over, falling face first onto the ground. Yoshimoto followed this up by running over to the head and slashing another portal through the side of its head. Another vital piece of the golem gone. It didn’t appear to be dead (if it could ever be considered alive), but it did at least seem to have great difficulty functioning now. It twitched and writhed on the ground. With his last turtle incapacitated, the battle was effectively over.

Lisanna had watched all of this, impressed. She suddenly felt a poke on her leg, which startled her. She turned and saw Seraiisa standing next to her. “Where did you come from?” Lisanna asked.

“Behind you, silly.” The girl replied. She looked over at the aftermath of Yoshimoto’s brief but effective assault. “Pretty cool, huh?”

“Yeah, I didn’t know he could do that.” Lisanna said.

“As I said, Lord Yoshimoto does have his uses.” Boudica added.

“Problem is, it takes a long time for most of his spells to start up.” Seraiisa said.

“Which means he’s only effective in certain situations.” Boudica said. Lisanna just listened to them explaining his abilities without having anything to add herself. It helped take her mind off some of the less pleasant things that had happened earlier.

“Alright, now that that’s done, I do believe we have them beat. Its time to enter Catena. Don’t worry, the hard part is over.” Boudica declared. Boudica and Seraiisa began walking towards the entrance, and Lisanna followed behind. She was about to discover why they had come to this place, and what was so important about it.

***  
Lisanna, Angel, Boudica, Seraiisa, Arnok, and Sael all entered the gate to Catena together. Yoshimoto decided not to join them, and left to take care of something else, as he had said he would earlier. Only a couple of Arnok’s warriors survived, and Yoshimoto’s remaining samurai left with him. Boudica’s followers remained, since they didn’t get directly involved in the fight. After the turtles were defeated, most of the remaining soldiers surrendered, and the few who continued to fight were killed. The group entered Catena without further resistance.

Lisanna felt tired, both physically and emotionally after everything that had happened. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, she had time to reflect on all the deaths that had occurred today, and she still didn’t know why these things had to happen. Boudica had promised her an explanation, but she wasn’t sure what to expect as far as that went.

Upon entering the town, one of the first things Lisanna noticed was how utilitarian it looked. The buildings were mostly boxy and unattractive looking. Much of the ground was unpaved dirt. There were large tools and equipment here and there, like mining equipment for instance. It wasn’t at all what she was expecting. Then again, she wasn’t sure what she had been expecting.

Another thing she noticed was the people. Not the soldiers, who had surrendered and were shackled. But the other people in the town (which Lisanna was beginning to suspect wasn’t actually a town at all). They looked dirty and unkempt. Worse, many of them appeared to have wounds and injuries. As they walked further into Catena, Lisanna saw more of these people, and it got worse. Many of them were dressed in rags. Some were half-naked. A few were even completely naked. And a fair number of them had chains and collars on. Men, women, and children. Young and old. The one thing they all had in common: it was obvious just from looking at them that they had all lived hard lives, and had suffered. Without being told, Lisanna slowly realized what these people were.

“They’re all slaves.” She said aloud. She was currently walking alongside Boudica, as they looked through the “town”. “Yes, they are. Bosco has a slave trade. And this place, Catena, is one of the biggest and most profitable slave colonies in the country. In fact, the name Catena literally means ‘chain’.” Boudica explained. Lisanna looked around at the slaves, many of whom seemed frightened at everything that was happening. Although, some just had a thousand-yard stare on their faces even with everything going on. 

“What are you going to do with them? Is this why we came here?” Lisanna asked.

“To answer your first question; that depends on them. I’ll give them the choice of joining our cause, if they so choose.” Boudica said.

“And if they refuse?”

“Then they’re free to go, wherever they want. I have no interest in owning slaves. However, I could always use more followers.” Lisanna mulled this over for a minute.

“If they don’t join you, where would they go?” Lisanna asked. Boudica stopped walking and turned to the smaller girl. “I honestly don’t know, Lisanna. That’s why I’m offering them a better alternative. Soon, they’ll be free, and will have to make a choice. I can offer them a decent life, or they can try to fend for themselves. If they do join me, all I ask is for their loyalty and praise. Not so much, is it?” Lisanna thought this over, looking down at the ground. Boudica started to turn around, but Lisanna spoke up.

“Boudica, I’ve been meaning to ask you… why do you need followers? I mean, I understand that its some sort of religion, but what are you trying to achieve? What are you to your followers? What are they to you?” She hadn’t originally intended on asking all of these questions. They just came out of her without her really thinking about it. These things had been on her mind for a while. Boudica folded her arms, and looked directly at Lisanna.

“Lisanna, is this really the time for this?” Boudica said.

“Like I said, I wanted to ask you for a while, but I don’t always get a chance to talk to you. But I have a chance now, so… I want to know. I mean, I’d _like_ to know. Especially if I’m going to fight with you.” Lisanna said. Boudica slowly nodded.

“Alright, since the fighting is over, I can spare a few minutes to explain. You call it a religion. I call it a philosophy, or a mindset. My goal is to make the world a better place. I want to overcome death, as I did with you. I can’t do that alone. I need help. Help from my followers. Help from Angel and the other former Oracion Seis. And help from you too, if you’ll lend it.” Boudica paused a moment, and looked at the huddled slaves around.

“Now, as for what we’re doing; yes, we do fight and kill. We have taken this place, Catena, as we will take others. But that is short term. Long term, I want to create a world where there is no death, and no need for fighting. But that’s not going to be easy. We sent envoys here before, you know. People who volunteered to come here, and peacefully tried to convince the people of Catena to join us. Considering what this place is for, I wasn’t expecting them to react very favorably. The first time we sent a messenger, they sent him away. The next time we sent one, they killed him outright.”

“Now, I won’t deny that I did want to recruit followers. And Catena does have some resources we could use. But it was also always one of my goals to free the slaves, and shut down the slave operation in general. First, we need to tear down the bad old systems before we can build up the new, better systems. But it will take time. And yes, it will mean having to do certain things that you might consider distasteful. Like working with Arnok, for instance. He’s a monster, but obviously very useful. So, what do you think of all of that? I’m curious.”

Boudica finished speaking, and Lisanna stood there reflecting. She looked up at Boudica. “What you’re saying sounds nice. But I’m still not sure. I still feel like I need more information. About you, and me, and… everything. I’m sorry, but I’m still a little disoriented, even after these past months.” Lisanna said. Boudica nodded.

“I understand. There is one more thing I’d like to show you that might help you to make up your mind.”

“What is it?” Lisanna asked.

“I’ll let that be a surprise.” Boudica said. Lisanna couldn’t help frowning a little. She generally liked Boudica, but didn’t like her tendency to keep her in the dark about things.

They arrived at the center of the base where Angel and Arnok were waiting. Arnok’s warriors were carrying a man by the arms. He didn’t look like a soldier, and was dressed rather nicely. He was in fact the one in charge of Catena. Some of the slaves and soldiers had identified him when pressed about where the leader was. Currently, he was forced onto his knees. Boudica stood over him.

“You’re the one giving orders here, yes?” she said. He looked up at her. “You can take all my money, slaves, whatever you want. Just let me go.” He said. Boudica appeared amused at how quickly the man had capitulated.

“I won’t let you go, but I will take those things anyway. Its not like you earned them anyway.” She said.

“I acquired those slaves legally. They’re my property.” He replied. Her remark had apparently caused him to momentarily forget the danger he was in, and so he became defensive.

“Not anymore.” She said.

“If you want to make an example of him, we should just flay him and put him on display.” Arnok said. The man suddenly remembered the danger, and tried to run away, only to be restrained. Lisanna was disturbed by Arnok’s suggestion, and even Angel looked a little uncomfortable. “While I appreciate the suggestion King Arnok, I don’t think that’s the message we want to send.” Boudica replied.

“Well, you could always use him for ‘enhancements’.” Angel said, while side eying Lisanna. “You have said you want more warriors.” Lisanna wasn’t sure what that meant.

“I like the way you think. Although…” Boudica looked the man up and down. He was fat and balding and middle aged. “I’m not sure he would make the best candidate.”

“You could just let me go, and I’ll go live a peaceful life somewhere far away.” The man suggested. Boudica laughed. “I don’t think so. Just put him in a cell back in the valley for now. Let him rot for a while until we can think of something better.” She said. The former slave master was carried off, facing a dire fate. He struggled a little, only to be punched in the head, at which point he stopped struggling. Boudica then turned her attention to a girl sitting on the ground over by a building. Her hands were tied, and she looked nervous. It was Pagan, who had survived the assault, but didn’t escape.

“And take her too. She could be useful somehow.” At hearing this, Pagan suddenly got up and made a run for it, even with her hands bound. Two of Boudica’s followers tried to stop her, but she evaded them. But as she was running a few of the slaves suddenly tackled her and started beating her. She fell to the ground as they dogpiled her. Boudica and Arnok both looked amused by this. Lisanna felt like she should do something, but she wasn’t sure who she should sympathize with. The slaves who had been abused and starved, or the defenseless girl who was being beaten into the ground.

“Alright, that’s enough. Break them up.” Boudica said. The slaves were suddenly pushed off of Pagan by some force, although not too forcefully. It was Seraiisa, who had used her telepathic push. “I assure you she’ll be punished. I ask that you trust me on this.” Boudica said to the slaves in an even voice. The slaves looked unsure, but backed off. Lisanna felt that the slaves might be a little intimidated by Boudica, especially with Arnok standing nearby. Lisanna also remembered that she herself might look a little frightening.

As the slaves huddled together, wary of the group that stormed in here, Seraiisa stepped forward. “Hey, everyone? Its okay, we’re cool. We don’t want to hurt you. We only hurt the guys running this place. Bad guys. We’re the good guys.” The little girl speaking to them so casually seemed to disarm them. A female slave in tattered clothes stepped forward slowly. She was carrying a young boy, close to Seraiisa’s age. “My son, he’s dying. Dead soon. He worked the mines. They made him. His lungs, hurt, he can’t breathe. They say happens all the time, dead within week. Can you revenge him? Make them all pay?” She spoke in simple sentences, likely due to lack of education. Boudica stepped forward to respond.

“I can do better than that. Much better. But you need to trust me.” Boudica knelt down. The woman fidgeted, reluctant to trust these strange outsiders. But Boudica put her hands on the boy’s chest. Her hands began to glow with a golden light. After a minute, the glow ceased, and Boudica removed her hands. The boy, who looked like he was on the verge of death, began breathing normally. Color returned to his face. He sat up. The woman looked shocked, but then hugged her young son. She thanked Boudica profusely, and the other slaves who were watching got on their knees. One of them spoke. “You’re… you are….”

“Why yes, I am.” She said.

***  
A short time later, Lisanna found herself following Boudica to a large building that was apparently used as a place of worship. Aside from being bigger than most of the other buildings, it didn’t look that different. There wasn’t really anything that made it look like a church or temple. Even the inside was somewhat plain looking, with some drab benches used for seating, and a pulpit of sorts for sermons. Oddly, the place seemed smaller on the inside than it looked on the outside.

Besides Lisanna, Seraiisa and Angel also accompanied Boudica, followed by a throng of the now freed slaves (Arnok had decided to sit this out, saying it didn’t interest him). There was something Boudica had wanted to find here in Catena, and they had told her that this building was where to find it. But Lisanna was confused when she found that there didn’t seem to be much there.

Boudica walked into the room, and headed straight back to the wall at the back. She walked up and knocked on it. It sounded hollow. Some of the slaves nodded at this. “This must be it.” Boudica said. “It’s definitely it, I can feel it.” Seraiisa added. Lisanna felt confusion, not knowing what they were talking about.

Boudica took a few steps back from the wall. “Seraiisa, would you mind helping me tear this thing down?”

“I’m on it!” Seraiisa said enthusiastically. Seraiisa ran over, and stood beside Boudica. Boudica walked behind the young girl, and put her hands on her shoulders. Boudica began to glow, and the glow spread to Seraiisa. The girl lifted her hands and aimed them at the wall. She concentrated, and a powerful magical force erupted from her/them. The wooden wall was blown to splinters. Once the dust settled, everyone saw what was behind the wall.

It turned out there was more room in this building than initially appeared. There was a large space that had been sealed off, and in the middle of that space was a statue. It was a large statue, and it gave off a magical energy.

“What is that?” Lisanna asked, slowly stepping closer. Boudica turned to look back. “Hopefully, its something that will answer some of your questions, and allay your doubts. Come, look closer.” Lisanna did as instructed. She walked up to the statue. She could feel the power emanating from it. As she walked up to it, she noticed that the statue looked familiar. That is to say, the person it was depicting looked familiar.

“Its you.” Lisanna said. She said this to Boudica. “Why would they have a statue of you here?”

“Good question. What does it say at the base?” Boudica replied. Lisanna saw that there was a plaque with an inscription at the bottom. It read: “Boudica, our savior, daughter of Hyperion, the God of Light.” It also had a date on it signifying when it was erected. It was dated about a thousand years ago. Lisanna had trouble comprehending what she was reading. “Daughter of… the god of light? A thousand years ago? What does this all mean?” she asked.

“It means what it says. I haven’t seen this in, well, a thousand years, obviously. The original inhabitants of what is now Catena built it. I appreciated it so much that I imbued it with magical energy to make sure it stayed intact.” At this point one of the slaves stepped forward. It was the woman that Boudica had helped. “I never saw statue before. But father did. And grandfather, and his father. They built wall here, they don’t want us to worship you.” The woman then got to her knees and cried. “Boudica. Mother. You came back.”

Boudica walked over to her. “It’s okay child, no tears. I’m here now. Everything will be better.” Lisanna wore an incredulous expression on her face. “So, wait a minute. You’re saying… hold on, you’re saying that you… are a god?”

Boudica laughed softly. “Not quite. More like, half divine, and half mortal.” Angel spoke up too. “She is the daughter of Hyperion, the god of light. So, essentially a demi-god, the next best thing to a god. Even better than an angel. Not that you would understand, you… wayward girl.” Angel was about to say something more harsh, but held her tongue since Boudica was within earshot. “At any rate, she is divinity on Earth-Land, and our best hope for salvation. You should worship her.”

“I need to sit down.” Lisanna said. She sat down on one of the benches. She felt disoriented. This day had been one shock for her after another. She started to wonder if she was having some weird dream. Giant turtles, living gods, and… the boy she killed. There was a part of her that hoped it was just a dream.

While Lisanna was having these thoughts, Boudica replied to Angel, “Thank you Angel, but I want Lisanna to decide for herself how she feels.”

“W-well, of course. I was just making a suggestion. That’s all.” Angel appeared cowed. Boudica smiled. “Its okay Angel. No harm done. I am not Jellal, or Brain. I welcome your opinions.” Angel seemed to relax a little. Lisanna didn’t even know who Brain and Jellal were. She was only half listening anyway.

Some time passed with the freed slaves gazing in wonder at the statue, and commenting, and asking questions. At some point, Boudica asked for some privacy. The freed slaves all left, and Boudica also asked Angel to leave and assist the others outside, which Angel reluctantly agreed to do. At that point, the only three people left in the place of worship were Boudica, Seraiisa, and Lisanna. Boudica cleared her throat.

“Lisanna, I think we should talk.”

***  
Lisanna suddenly noticed that she was alone with Boudica and Seraiisa. She looked around, and noticed that even Angel had left. She also noticed that, while this building wasn’t that big, it felt a lot bigger now that everyone else had left.

“Umm…” Lisanna was trying to figure out if she missed something important while she was lost in thought.

“I said we should talk.” Boudica repeated.

“Oh. I guess this must be important then.” Lisanna said.

“Yes. About what happened today. And where we’re going from here.” Boudica replied. “I know that some of the events of today must have been difficult for you. The fighting, the deaths, the slavery in Catena. But Lisanna, we have a chance to do something great here. You can help Natsu, and Erza, and the world as a whole.”

Lisanna sat there listening. She knew that Boudica had more to say, but Lisanna had something she needed to say too. “Before this goes any further, I want to know some things. I want to know who you really are, and where you come from. And I want to know about Fairy Tail. If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. But I can’t go along with this anymore if I don’t know what’s going on. So please, tell me.”

Boudica lowered her head and folded her arms. She stood there for a minute in that pose. Lisanna felt a little anxious just waiting there in the quiet room like that. Seraiisa occupied herself by balancing on one of the benches and trying to walk across it. “Alright. I’ll tell you, if that will make you feel better.”

Boudica told Lisanna of how she and her companions had originally lived a thousand years earlier. She spoke of the alliance, and the war. She mentioned the experiments in reviving the dead, and later being banished to a shadow realm by the gods (or at least one of them). She also confirmed that while her mother was human, her father was the god Hyperion. Although, she didn’t elaborate on that last part. Lisanna sat and listened intently. By this point, Seraiisa amused herself by trying to perfect a cat’s cradle with some string, since this was all old information for her. After talking for a while, Boudica finished and waited for Lisanna’s response.

“Is that everything?” she asked.

“It’s the broad strokes at least. I’m sure there are others who could give you more information, or at least their opinion of events.” Boudica said. Lisanna slowly stood up and stretched.

“Thank you for telling me that. This is a lot to take in. But I’m getting used to that. So look, I’ve thought about this, and I’ve decided that I’m going to continue helping you. I think what you’re trying to do is good, even if I’m not sure about some of your friends. Besides, I did say that I would help Natsu. And I need to become stronger to do that. For him, and for Erza. I’m going to trust you and I hope I don’t regret that. If I feel at any point that what you’re doing is wrong, then I’ll want to leave.”

“I won’t stop you, if that’s really what you want.” Boudica replied.

“You stopped me before, when I wanted to move freely.” Lisanna responded. Since she had known Boudica, this was the first time she had questioned her like this.

“That was for your own good. You were confused and unaware of things. And there’s your appearance as well. It would have been dangerous to let you roam on your own. But I think you’ve reached a point where you can probably take care of yourself. Keep in mind, you are still life bonded to Natsu. You depend on him to live, so you can’t stray too far from him, lest you die. So, if you decided to leave us, then he would need to leave too. You would need to make sure he would want that.”

Lisanna looked uncertain. “How far can I go?” Boudica shrugged. “To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. Several miles, perhaps.”

“You’re not sure? That doesn’t sound very godly. No offense.” Lisanna said.

“None taken. And I am only half divine.” The other woman responded.

“Which is still pretty awesome.” Seraiisa chimed in. “Look Lisanna, don’t sweat the small stuff. Today we freed slaves and shut down this base. And eventually, we’ll cure death. Isn’t that what’s important?”

“To achieve that, I need more power, and more followers.” Boudica added. “So, just to clarify, you are staying with us?” Lisanna nodded.

“Yeah. I said I would. But there’s one more thing I want to know about. Fairy Tail.”

Boudica stepped closer, and looked at Lisanna plainly. “I told you about Fairy Tail.”

“You told me they’re evil. But… I have some good memories from there. Not a lot, but some.”

“And bad ones?”

“Well, yes. Bad ones too. But is the guild as a whole really evil? Are they all bad? That just doesn’t sound right to me.” Lisanna unconsciously fidgeted as she said this. She was still confused about this subject.

“Hmm. Maybe it wouldn’t be fair to say the _entire_ guild is evil. But a few bad apples can spoil the whole bunch. If nothing else, their master is certainly an evil person. Do you remember anything about Fairy Tail’s master?” Lisanna was caught off guard by this question. She tried to think of the master of the guild, but nothing came to mind. Not a face, not a name, nothing.

“I… don’t remember Fairy Tail’s master. At all.” She admitted.

“Probably for the best. What about his son, or grandson? Do you remember them?” Lisanna answered in the negative again.

“They’re even worse. Villainy runs in their family. Did you know that the magic council of Fiore has tried to shut down Fairy Tail on several occasions? Normally, that’s the sort of thing reserved for a dark guild.” Lisanna once again found herself off balance with this new information.

“I didn’t know that. That does sound pretty bad. But my sister…”

“Yes, Mirajane. Maybe she can be saved. She’s still quite young, and she could be turned around. Maybe I could try tracking her down for you.” Lisanna looked surprised but a little happy to hear that. Seraiisa, standing behind Lisanna, also looked happy to hear this.

“And what about… you know, Elfman. Do you think he could be saved too?” Lisanna asked.

“Elfman…” Boudica considered, and looked at Seraiisa. The little girl scrunched up her nose and shook her head. “… I don’t think he can be saved. I believe he’s too far gone. I know you think you remember him as a cute child. Regardless of whether or not that’s true, he grew up to be a monster. He’s the reason you have those demon parts. Don’t forget that.” Again, this feeling of anger rose up in Lisanna. She tried to ignore it.

“I guess you’re right.” She said.

“Good. Anything else?” Boudica said. Lisanna said no. Boudica had answered Lisanna’s most pressing questions, even if she still felt that Boudica was keeping something from her. But she decided to trust her all the same. Lisanna left the church. She had to prepare for the trek back to the valley. Boudica and Seraiisa told her they would return to the valley later on, since there was still more they had to take care of here.

After Lisanna had left, Boudica and Seraiisa stayed behind in the church. They were now alone. Boudica clapped her hands.

“So, Seraiisa, what did you think of today?” Boudica asked. Seraiisa smiled.

“Best birthday ever! We fought turtle dinosaurs and beat a small army using our magic. Oh, and we freed the slaves. That was nice too.”

Boudica chuckled. “And what do you think of Lisanna? I’m impressed with her power, myself.”

Seraiisa looked unsure. “Yeah, she’s cool. She’s gotten strong, and I like her. She asks a lot of questions though.” The girl said.

“Yes, she is rather inquisitive. Too much so. Normally its easier for me to get people to just go along with me. As long as they’re inclined to listen. She seems harder to manage though.”

“Maybe it’s the demon in her.” Seraiisa suggested.

“Maybe. I do hope you appreciate my conceding to reach out to her sister. That will complicate things.”

“Yeah, I know. Sorry about that, but I do like Mirajane. I want to be friends with her again, and I’d like to see her and Lisanna together. I know it’s hard though.”

Boudica sighed. “Its fine. I’ll deal with it, one way or another. Why do I indulge you so?” Boudica said. Seraiisa put a finger to her chin.

“Hmm, because you love me?” She smiled a cute smile as she said it. Boudica smiled back, and knelt down.

“That must be it. I would do many things for you. I have many ‘children’ Seraiisa, but you are my only daughter.” Boudica kissed her on the forehead. Seraiisa started to look uncharacteristically bashful.

“Thanks mom. I love you too.” She hugged Boudica, and Boudica returned the hug. Alone together, mother and daughter embraced.

***  
A short time later, Lisanna walked out of Catena accompanied by Sael and some of Boudica’s followers. Boudica herself, along with Seraiisa and Angel, were staying behind for now to deal with the aftermath of the battle. Arnok had already left. Reinforcements were expected to arrive soon to help secure the base.

Lisanna walked back up the hill beside Sael, in his now beat-up chair. It was well into the afternoon by this point, and most of the clouds had burned off. “It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?” he said conversationally. Lisanna turned her head to him. “Yeah, it is. I mean, if you ignore all the dead bodies and wreckage everywhere. Which I’m trying to do.”

Sael nodded. “Yes, it’s a good thing we’re facing away from all that so we don’t have to dwell on it.” Lisanna looked at him to see if he meant that as a joke, but it seemed like he was being serious. After that, they walked for a minute in silence, when Lisanna decided to change the subject.

“I’m sorry about all your machines. Your metal animals and men, destroyed. I’m sure you worked hard on them.” She said. Sael shrugged.

“Well, I knew there was a good chance that would happen. It was a battle, after all. That being said, I will need to improve them for the future. I do have a few assistants, so its not like I’d be doing it all alone. Actually, I think you might have inspired me a little.” He said.

Lisanna tilted her head a little. “Inspired you how?”

“Those animal forms you changed into. Very interesting.” He replied.

“Oh? You gonna make a machine based on one my of my forms?” she said.

“Maybe. Probably.”

“Well, I’m flattered.” After that, the conversation died down. Lisanna was aware that Sael was supposed to be a king of some once great civilization, although she didn’t know the details. She considered asking him about it, but thought better of it. _After a day like this, I’m not in the mood for another long story. Maybe some other time_ , she thought to herself. The two of them continued on back to the valley without incident, with the sun at their backs.

***  
What Lisanna and Sael were not aware of, was that they were being watched. In the distance, behind a group of trees, a lone figure observed them. The observer had been in the vicinity for some time, and had gone unnoticed. As Lisanna and Sael, along with Boudica’s followers trailing behind, moved back into the forest towards the valley, the figure watched them go. This person was the man known as Mystogan.

“So, the late Lisanna Strauss. And the so-called Shadow Kings. All here together. Very… interesting.” Mystogan spoke to himself. He pulled out one of his staves, preparing to disappear. He spoke once more.

“The others need to know about this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a weird, long story I'm writing. Anyway, back to Magnolia City next chapter.
> 
> In case anyone is wondering, Natsu will have a bigger role in the story soon.


	20. A Night Out

Back in Magnolia City, things were quiet. A few days had passed since the battle at Catena, many miles away. But Fairy Tail was largely unaware of that, and they were all trying to go about their lives as usual. Currently, at the Fairy Hills dormitory, in her own private room, Evergreen was also trying to live her own life. More specifically, she was getting ready for a date.

Evergreen was sitting on a leather cushioned chair, looking into a vanity mirror. She had put on a nice dress, and was now applying makeup. She worked hard on her appearance in general, but that was especially true if she was going out for a romantic evening. Although, she wondered if Elfman would appreciate it. “He better.” She muttered to herself. She wasn’t sure what had attracted her to Elfman in the first place. She did appreciate a man with a good physique, true. But his personality and way of talking were so blunt and crude. And he was always talking about “being a real man”, whatever that means. And yet, she found him oddly charming somehow. She couldn’t explain it.

After finishing applying some red lipstick, she stood up and admired herself in the mirror, satisfied. She then put on a coat, since it was cold out. Of course, it was a nice looking coat, both functional and stylish. She picked up her purse and walked to the door, preparing to meet Elfman at the guild, where they would leave for their date.

 _I wonder if he spent half as much time getting ready as I did._ This thought came to Evergreen with doubt, but also some hope. She knew he wasn’t sophisticated, but she hoped he at least cared enough to put in some effort for her. “Here’s hoping.” she said. She opened the door, and left for the guild hall.

***  
A short distance away, at the guild hall, things were livelier than they had been in a while. Master Makarov hadn’t made any big announcements since returning, and many in the guild seemed to take this as a good sign. Of course, there’s also the fact that a large part of the guild had grown tired of being on edge all the time, and wanted to relax for a change. So tonight, several of the mages had made plans to go out and have fun.

Presently, Elfman was sitting in the guild hall along with his sister Mirajane. Sitting in a loose circle were also Lucy, Cana, and Levy, who had made their own plans for the evening. Gray and Wendy were there as well, and Macao was nearby teaching his young son Romeo some magic techniques.

“So, you guys are going out for some fun tonight?” Mirajane said this, addressing Lucy, Cana and Levy.

“Yep, just us three girlfriends.” Cana said. Truthfully, Cana and Levy were more like acquaintances than friends. They were mostly only friends through Lucy, and had never spent any significant time together before. But they both had wanted to do something with Lucy, and she couldn’t choose between them, so Cana suggested the three of them head out somewhere together.

“Yeah, we’re kind of having a hard time agreeing on what to do, but we’ll think of something.” Levy said.

“Its been a while since I’ve gotten to do something like this. It’ll be fun.” Lucy added.

“I bet. And what about you Gray? Got any plans?” Mirajane said. Gray didn’t look interested in chit chatting, but he looked up when she spoke. “Oh uh, yeah. I’ve got a job tonight. Nothing big, but it’s something to do.”

“Neat! And what about you, Elfman? What are you doing tonight?” Mirajane asked him. Elfman looked at her. He noticed she was acting more upbeat tonight than she had been lately. He knew that she had been feeling down lately, so this shift in her demeanor surprised him. But he wasn’t going to complain about it. He preferred seeing her happy over seeing her sad, whatever the reason.

“Well actually, yeah. I’ve got a date tonight.” He said.

“Really? You have a date? With who?” Cana was the one who said this. She couldn’t help being a little nosy about it.

“Well, actually-“ Elfman started, but was cut off. “Actually, he has a date with me. Don’t you, Elfman?” Evergreen said, walking into the hall from the cold. The gathered mages turned to look at her. Elfman had already told Mirajane about him and Evergreen, so she wasn’t surprised. But everyone else was.

“Elfman, you didn’t even bother getting dressed? I went to the trouble of putting on these nice clothes. I didn’t do that for myself, you know.” Evergreen’s voice was a mixture of annoyance and disappointment. Elfman stood up. “Relax, I got some nice clothes. Just watch.” Elfman said. He reached behind a chair and pulled out a dress jacket, and put it on. It was fairly nice looking, although it had a little wear at the cuffs.

“That looks nice Elfman, where’d you get that?” Mirajane said.

“Thanks, I got it secondhand. But it fits well enough.” He said. At this point, Cana decided to speak up again.

“Say Elfman, how’d you get Evergreen to go out with ya? I would’ve figured she’s too stuck up for that.” Evergreen turned to look at Cana and responded. “First of all, rude. Second, if you want to know why I’m going out with him, why not just ask me directly?” she said.

“Okay, why are you going out with him?” Cana said.

“None of your business.” Evergreen replied. Cana blew a raspberry at her.

“This is actually our first real date. We only had a few drinks before.” Elfman said.

“Yes, that’s right. At any rate, the jacket will do, but it would’ve been nice if you’d gotten a tie as well.” Evergreen said, changing the subject back.

“Got that covered too!” Elfman said. He pulled a tie out of the jacket pocket. A clip-on tie, to be exact. He clipped it onto his shirt, and put his hands on his hips, waiting to hear what Evergreen thought. She folded her arms and put her head down for a moment, as if contemplating something. She then looked up and said, “Elfman… Let’s just go. Now, please.” She said. He shrugged his shoulders, and together they left the guild hall to go on their date.

“Well, I didn’t see that coming.” Levy said.

“It was unexpected.” Lucy said.

“I give ‘em a week. Two tops.” Cana added.

“Cana, that’s not nice.” Lucy said.

“What, you think they’ll stay together and get married?” Cana asked. Lucy shrugged. “Well, you never know.”

“Anyway, maybe its time we got going, instead of hanging around here gossiping.” Levy said. “Good idea.” Cana said. She stood up and stretched, preparing to head out, and Lucy and Levy got ready to leave too.

“Have fun you guys.” Mirajane said. “Sure will!” Cana called back, already halfway out the door. Lucy and Levy quickly followed her, and the trio left.

Just then, a small fireball shot over at a table just a few feet away from Gray. “What the…?!” Gray said, startled by the attack. Romeo came running over. “Sorry Gray, didn’t hurt you did I?” the boy said.

“No… It’s fine, just be more careful.” He said. Macao quickly came over as well. “Man, I’m sorry. I’m trying to teach him some spells, but he’s just a beginner. He’s got a ways to go.” Macao said.

“I’ll do better next time, dad.” Romeo said. “I’m sure you will. Maybe we should practice someplace with fewer people around though.” Macao said. “So, nobody got hurt, right?”

“I’m fine.” Gray confirmed.

“Me too. No harm done.” Wendy added. Romeo walked up to Wendy just then. “Hey Wendy, want to practice with me?” the boy said. “Uh, thanks Romeo, but I can’t. I have other things I need to do.” The girl replied. Macao touched his son’s shoulders. “Come on Romeo, we’ll find someplace a little more private. It’ll help you to concentrate anyway.” The kid reluctantly obeyed his father and walked off with him.

“Well, guess I’m going to be heading out too. See ya.” Gray said, getting up and starting to walk away. Before he could leave, Wendy walked up beside him and said, “Hey Gray, would you mind if I came with you? I mean, if you aren’t teaming up with anyone, maybe you could use the help?”

“No offense Wendy, but I’d prefer to do this alone.” He said. Wendy looked a little discouraged, but persisted.

“Its just that I’d like to have someone I could learn from. I tried asking Gajeel, since he’s another dragon slayer, but he doesn’t want to.” She explained. Gray paused, looking uncomfortable. “Maybe you could hang out with Romeo, since he’s closer to your age?” he suggested.

“He’s half my age.” Wendy replied drily. “Besides, I want someone more experienced. I thought it was great how we all teamed up to fight the Oracion Seis. Why can’t we get Lucy and the others and do that again? Maybe not tonight, but…”

“Wendy, I hear what you’re saying, but I don’t think that’ll happen. We’re all kind of doing our own thing these days.”

“But why? I heard you were part of a team. You, and Lucy, and some other people. What happened to that?” Wendy looked disconcerted, and was trying to understand the situation. Gray wasn’t sure what to tell her.

“Why don’t you just take her with you, Gray? It could be good for both of you.” Mirajane said this. She had walked over to them without Gray noticing. Gray shuffled.

“Look, it’s just that I wanted to do this alone. That’s all.” He said.

“Is that _really_ what you want?” Mirajane said. “Besides, you said yourself this job wasn’t a big deal. Would it be so bad bringing her just this once?” Mirajane persisted. Gray closed his eyes.

“Fine. Just this once. I guess that’ll be alright.” He said. Wendy looked pleased. “Great! I’ll do my best, Gray. I promise. Oh, and one more thing; can I bring Carla along too?” Gray put his hands on his hips and looked down at her. “If we bring Carla, then Happy will probably want to come too.”

“The more the merrier.” Mirajane said, smiling.

“Ugh.” Was Gray’s only response.

***

Elfman and Evergreen had decided to go to a pasta restaurant. It was small, but nice. Evergreen ordered angel hair shrimp pasta in a white wine sauce with a bruschetta appetizer. Elfman ordered spaghetti and meatballs. They sat in a booth together, and made small talk in between trying the appetizer. After a few minutes, Elfman decided to try asking her about herself.

“So, Evergreen. That’s a nice name. Kind of makes me think of plants. You like gardening and stuff?” he asked. Evergreen looked up at him.

“Gardening? No. Sitting around in the dirt and digging up weeds isn’t my idea of fun. Although, I do like flowers. Pretty ones. What about you? You like pretty flowers?” she said. Elfman rubbed his head. “Pretty flowers? Well…”

“Not manly enough?” Evergreen suggested.

“I mean, pretty stuff can be nice too. I guess not everything has to be manly.” He replied.

“I’d hope not.” Evergreen said with a small smile, while resting her chin on her hand. “Anyway, my parents named me for my everlasting beauty. But what about your name? Why are you named Elfman?”

“Hmm. I remember when I was real young, before my folks died, they told me that they wanted a girl. Especially my mom. She had her heart set on having a girl, and naming her ‘Elf’. But she had me instead. But she’d gotten attached to the Elf name, so they just added ‘Man’ to the end of it. Elfman.”

Evergreen smiled. “That’s funny. Good story.”

“It’s true though.” Elfman said.

“I know, that’s why its funny.” Evergreen said.

A minute later the entrees arrived, and they ate. Elman noticed Evergreen twirling her pasta with a fork as she ate it. She somehow managed to make eating look graceful, or at least Elfman thought so. He also noticed how pretty she looked. He wanted to tell her, but he was uncharacteristically nervous about it. He cleared his throat. She looked up at him expectantly.

“You know, Ever, I just wanted to tell you…” She blinked as she waited for him to finish. “… this restaurant you suggested was a pretty good idea.” He finished. She smiled. “Why thank you. I honestly didn’t know if you’d like it or not.” She said warmly.

 _Damn it, why didn’t I tell her she was pretty? Next time._ Elfman thought to himself. Nonetheless, Evergreen seemed happy with what he had actually said.

***  
Lucy, Levi, and Cana had gone out for the night. The three of them had had some trouble deciding on where to go. Cana suggested a bar, but Levy pointed out that Cana drinks all the time anyway. Levi wanted to go to a book fair, but Cana said that was boring. Lucy didn’t have a strong opinion either way. They compromised and went to a play on the edge of town. It was a comedy. An unfunny one. They walked out halfway through.

Having gotten out of the play, the three girls walked along the street, seeing various shops, and deciding whether or not to visit. It was cold out, so they were dressed warmly, although Lucy still wore a skirt. They walked along at a casual pace for a few minutes. Eventually, Cana spoke up.

“Man, that play sure sucked, huh?” Cana said.

“Maybe if we had stayed till the end it would have gotten better.” Levy suggested.

“That would have taken a miracle.” Cana said.

“It was bad, but in a way I kind of enjoyed it.” Lucy said. “It reminded me of when we were in that play together. By ‘we’ I mean me, and Gray, and Natsu, and Erza. The Strongest Team.”

Levy turned to Lucy, who was looking up at the sky, remembering another time. “Yeah, I heard about that. Wish I could have seen it.” Levy replied. Lucy laughed.

“No, you don’t. It was awful. Then again, maybe you would have gotten a laugh out of it. At us.” Lucy sighed, and looked at the sky again. “It wasn’t that long ago we were in that play. But it feels like a hundred years ago now.” Lucy said this in a quiet, wistful tone. They continued walking, saying nothing for a minute. Finally, Cana said, “Mind if we change the subject? Lucy?” Hearing her name called, Lucy turned her head.

“Oh, yeah sure. What do you want to talk about?”

“Actually, I want to talk about you.” Cana said.

“About me? What about me?” Lucy said. For a moment Cana said nothing. Then, “The other day, I got a weird vibe off you. And I still kind of do. You seem different somehow. Did something happen?” Lucy became quiet again, and looked at the ground. Levy walked over to Lucy and stood beside her.

“Maybe its something she doesn’t want to talk about. Something personal. Its okay Lucy, you don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.” Lucy looked up at Levy and smiled. “Thanks Levy. But its okay. I can talk about it. But I’d appreciate it if you don’t tell anyone else about it. Not because I’m ashamed or anything, I just… don’t feel its anyone else’s business.”

“I won’t tell anyone Lucy. I promise.” Levy said.

“Yeah, me too. Promise.” Cana added. Lucy nodded, while Cana looked at her expectantly.

“Okay. Well, let’s see. The other night, as I was walking home, I got attacked by a bunch of guys in an alley.” Lucy said.

“Holy shit.” Cana said. “Oh my god, Lucy.” Levy added. Lucy quickly held up her hands.

“Its okay, nothing happened. Loke came and saved me. Like a knight in shining armor.” Lucy said.

“Well, thank heaven for that.” Levy said.

“Yeah, that’s good. So, you got attacked, and Loke came to the rescue. That must have been shitty, but at least it had a happy ending.” Cana said.

“There’s more.” Lucy said. “Remember, I asked you not to tell anyone.” The other two nodded. “Okay then. So… after Loke showed up, he walked me back home. And then I invited him inside. So, we went up to my apartment, and talked a little. And then…”

“And then?” Cana asked.

“…We had sex.” Lucy finished. Cana and Levy stopped walking. Lucy turned around to look at them. They both looked like they were having trouble comprehending what they just heard. “You… what?” Levy said. Lucy smiled a little bashfully.

“Loke and I had sex in my apartment. It was my first time. It was nice.” Lucy finished, and looked up at them. The other two girls exchanged glances. Levy looked uncomfortable, and was blushing a little after hearing this information.

“Does this mean that you and Loke are a couple now?” Levy asked. Lucy shook her head. “No. It was a one night thing. That’s all.” Levy looked even more uncomfortable now. Cana on the other hand started laughing. She walked over and hugged Lucy. “That’s great, Lucy. Your cherry’s been popped. Congrats.” Despite everything, Lucy couldn’t help blushing a little at the bluntness of Cana’s words. But Lucy still hugged her back. “I guess your story really did have a happy ending then. Good for you.” Cana said. After that, the three of them started walking again, to nowhere in particular. While it was cold out, it wasn’t so cold that they couldn’t stand to be outside for a little while.

As they walked along, Lucy couldn’t help but feel that the atmosphere around them had changed. Levy was quiet, and looking at the forest outside the town, her head turned away. Cana was looking straight ahead, with a casual and pleased look on her face. Maybe it was just her imagination, but Lucy sensed that Levy might have lost some respect for her, and felt less comfortable around her now. But maybe Cana had gained some respect for her. Lucy wasn’t sure how to feel about either of those things, assuming they were true.

“So, what made you decide to do this, Lucy? Sleep with Loke, I mean. Did it have anything to do with what we talked about before? Did I get you to do this?” Cana said this while side eying Lucy with a smirk.

“I guess you did put the idea in my head, but that wasn’t the main reason I did it.” Lucy said.

“What kind of conversations are you two having?” Levy said with a troubled expression. Cana just laughed. Lucy ignored Levy’s question. “There were actually a few reasons why I did it. I guess it was partly because of everything that’s happened these past several months. Erza dying, Natsu leaving, my team breaking up. And a bunch of other horrible things that happened since then. I felt bad about everything. But it also started to make me wonder about who I am, and what my place is. I felt like everything was changing, and I wasn’t sure about anything. That was why I wanted to start training harder. But that wasn’t enough. I didn’t just want to get stronger. Somehow, I just didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin anymore. I felt like I needed to branch out, move in new directions. Is this making any sense?” Lucy finished.

“Sort of.” Cana said.

“Not sure.” Levy said. Both answers sounded non-committal. Lucy shrugged. “Maybe I’m not explaining it very well. Or maybe it doesn’t make sense. But it was fun, all the same. I thought that doing that with Loke would make me feel like a completely different person.”

“But you don’t?” Cana said.

“I feel different. In some ways. But I’m still me. Still Lucy. I guess I just have a different perspective on some things.” Lucy paused, and they kept walking, but slowed the pace. After a minute Lucy spoke again.

“If I’m being honest, there is another reason why I did it.” She said.

“What’s that?” Cana said. Lucy hesitated. “I’ll tell you. I mentioned earlier that I was attacked by those guys. But that wasn’t the first time something like that happened.”

“It wasn’t?” Levy said. Lucy shook her head. “No. Months ago, there was this other incident with these two guys who tried to kidnap me. Loke saved me there too. I told you about that.”

“Yeah, I remember that.” Levy said.

“And that’s not all.” Lucy continued. “There was also that time I was abducted by that guy calling himself “Salamander” so he could sell me, and a bunch of other girls, to a sex slave trade in Bosco. Natsu saved me there, thankfully.” Lucy said this almost casually, despite it being a heavy topic.

“Oh yeah.” Cana said somberly, remembering hearing about that.

“Anyway. These things keep happening to me. I’ve had some close calls. And it just made me think… anything can happen. That was part of what motivated me to sleep with Loke. So now, even if something happens in the future, at least my first time will always be a good memory. So there’s that.” Lucy said.

“Wow.” Levy said. They walked together in silence another minute. Then Cana spoke. “Alright, time for another change of topic. So… heard any news lately?”

“Like what?” Lucy said.

“Like anything.” Cana said.

“Did you guys hear about the new travel restrictions across Fiore?” Levy said.

“I think I heard something about it, but not much.” Lucy said.

“Nope, didn’t hear about that.” Cana said. Levy turned to them, feeling more comfortable with this new topic. “Well, apparently it’s because of that group from Bosco that attacked us before. They’ve been attacking other guilds, and they’ve even been showing up in towns. Not always to attack. Sometimes to ‘convert’ people, and get new flunkies or what have you. But things still erupt into chaos. People who join them will often become violent and attack their neighbors who wouldn’t join up. At any rate, the military and the kingdom have gotten pretty wary about this, so they’re putting all these restrictions on moving around the country, and traveling into or out of Fiore. They do background checks and everything. At least in some places.”

“Wow, really? That bad?” Lucy said. Levy nodded. “Yeah. It might make things more difficult for us in the near future, especially if we want to do jobs that require us to, you know, go places other than Magnolia.”

“So, what are you saying? We’re stuck here?” Cana said.

“No, not necessarily. We should be able to travel with the right credentials. I’m sure the master could help with that. It would take a little longer though, and would be inconvenient.

 _I guess I’ve been focusing so much on what’s been going on in Fairy Tail and in my own head that I wasn’t paying enough attention to the outside world. I guess that’s another thing I need to work on._ Lucy thought to herself. Her thoughts were interrupted by Cana.

“Hey, what’s that?” Cana said, pointing at something. Lucy turned to see what Cana was indicating. It was the forest. Or rather, a specific point in the forest.

“Is that smoke?” Levy said. Lucy looked closer, and realized that there was a plume of smoke coming from the trees in the forest, down the hill. They all stopped to stare.

“Think it’s a forest fire?” Cana said.

“At this time of year? I doubt it. There’s too much smoke for it to just be a campfire though.” Levy said. At that point, another plume of smoke came up through the trees. And another. “What is going on down there?” Levy said.

“You don’t think someone might be intentionally starting fires down there?” Lucy said.

“It’s possible, I guess.” Cana said. But now, noises could be heard. What sounded like impacts into the ground, and cracking branches.

“There’s definitely some kind of trouble down there.” Lucy said.

“Yeah. Where there’s smoke there’s fire. I’m guessing some kind of battle involving mages. We should avoid it. We don’t need the trouble right now.” Cana said. But her words made Lucy pause. _A battle involving mages. Near Magnolia. Fire…_

“Lucy, you okay?” Cana said. Lucy turned to Cana. “I… think we should go down there.” Lucy said.

“What? Why?” Cana said. Lucy blinked. “Because… Because I just think we should. I mean, someone might need our help. They could be hurt. We can’t just leave-“ Lucy stopped midsentence. She took a breath. “I want to go down and see if someone needs our help. You don’t have to come with me. But I feel like I should go.” Levy and Cana exchanged a look, and then turned back to Lucy.

“If you feel that strongly about it, then I’ll go with you.” Levy said.

Cana looked at Lucy for a moment, trying to read her mind. Although Cana didn’t know exactly what Lucy was thinking, she did have her suspicions. “Alright Lucy. I’ll go with you. But if we run into trouble, then just follow my lead, okay?” Cana said. Lucy and Levy both agreed to this. Someone should take charge, after all.

***  
The three girls ran down the hill towards the forest. There were now flames visible in the night sky above the trees. As they got closer to the trees, the temperature gradually began to shift from cold to warm. It became warmer still as they entered the forest. They stuck close together, but moved at a brisk pace. They weren’t sure what or who they were going to find. Both Cana and Levy had doubts that they should even be there. But Lucy felt this was something they (or at least she) needed to do. Although she had a hard time explaining why. There was just a feeling, a possibility.

As they moved further in, the smoke nearby started to get thicker. They did their best to remain upwind of it. But that’s not all. They began to notice shapes in the distance. Figures moving through the trees and smoke. They were hard to make out. Not knowing if they were friend or foe, the girls readied themselves for a possible fight. Cana drew her cards, and Lucy pulled a few keys out. They slowed their pace a little as they saw fleeting glimpses of something. They appeared to be men dressed in heavy clothes. One figure came just a few yards in front of them, dashing by, perhaps not noticing them. Upon seeing the figure, it became clear that it wasn’t wearing heavy clothes. It was armor. Dark armor with a helmet and mask.

“Shit.” Cana said. She was fairly sure who they were dealing with now, and as she looked at Levy, she guessed the smaller girl was too. She appeared nervous, but still ready to fight. While Lucy noticed the figures too, part of her mind was still distracted by something else. Suddenly, more flames erupted in a clearing not far from where they were. There was some shouting coming from that direction. The way the flames were shooting up, they definitely weren’t natural. These flames were the work of a mage. The armored figures seemed to be chasing whoever was causing the fire.

“It’s them, isn’t it? The ones who attacked us before. They came back.” Levy said.

“Well, we’ll just kick their asses. We’ve beaten tougher.” Cana said.

“Fairy Tail as a whole, sure. But us three specifically?” Levy said.

“Hmm.” Cana hated to admit it, but Levy had a point.

“So, what are we going to do? They’re chasing someone. Shouldn’t we help? Lucy said.

“Yeah. Maybe not the smartest thing to do, but it is the right thing to do.” Levy said. “Hmm.” Cana reiterated. The three of them moved forward.

“Just stay close together. And don’t let your guard down.” Cana said. They kept low, and moved closer to the source of the fire. It appeared to have stopped just ahead of them. They entered a small clearing and found a lone figure surrounded by flames twirling around. With the fire and smoke, they couldn’t see who it was. The person at the center of it started moving forward.

“Wait!” Lucy said suddenly. The figure stopped. “Lucy!” Cana hissed, but Lucy stepped forward toward the lone mage. As Lucy stepped closer, she said, “Who are you? Why are they chasing you?” _After all this time. Could it be…_ she thought to herself.

The figure slowly turned, and the flames began to die down a little. There was still fire here and there though, and the forest was hot and red. Lucy took a step forward, and so did the other person. As the flames eased, Lucy could now see who it was.

“You…” Lucy began. Cana and Levy could also see who it was. “Oh my god. What are _you_ doing here?” Levy said. The person they were addressing smiled.

“Wait… who are you?” Lucy asked. Lucy did not recognize the person in front of them. But Levy and Cana did.

“It’s Flare, from Raven Tail.” Cana said. Flare Corona stood in front of them, in her trademark red dress. Her hair was loose and fiery. “Hey, I know you two! But I don’t know you, blondie.” Flare said.

 _I thought…_ Lucy couldn’t help feeling disappointment at this turn of events. She had been expecting something else.

“You’re with them, aren’t you? Was this all a trap?” Cana said. She raised her cards, preparing to attack.

“No, wait! I’m not with them, I promise. I’m trying to escape from them. Really! C’mon, I could really use some help. They’ve been chasing me for a while. I tried to set fires to lose them, but…” As she was talking, armored figures emerged from the trees around them. About half a dozen of them. They had swords drawn. Without another word, Cana launched a group of cards at two of them, creating an explosion beneath them. Lucy, quickly weighing her options, decided to summon Virgo. The maiden appeared before her. “Get rid of them Virgo!” Lucy said.

“On it, princess.” Virgo confirmed. The samurai charged with their swords, making their deadly intent clear. Virgo used her tunneling ability to burrow beneath them and pull them underground, trapping them in the dirt. She reappeared above ground. Levy used her script magic to send a blast of air at the remaining samurai.

“Well, that wasn’t too hard.” Cana said. Flare smiled at them strangely. “Thanks, hehe. Eh, sorry about that whole attacking your guild thing. I’ll try to make it up to you, somehow. Especially now that I owe you.” She said in a strange voice.

“Yeah, yeah. Look, what are you doing out here? Why were they chasing you?” Cana said. Flare tilted her head. “Well, that’s kind of a funny story. Maybe we could go someplace that isn’t on fire to talk about it.” She maintained that strange look most of the time, which the others found unsettling.

“I don’t know if we should trust her.” Levy said. Levy was clearly uncomfortable around Flare. Before the other two could respond, something leapt out of the trees. It was a huge tiger. Three times the size of a normal one. Flare staggered back and fell. The other three took a step back. The huge beast growled at them.

“What the hell is that?” Cana said, grabbing some more cards.

“It is my pet, and you are right to be afraid of it. It will devour you all.” A deep voice said. It stepped out from behind the tiger. It was another samurai, but dressed more ornately then the others. He wore a black helmet and a gold colored mask with a demonic face. It was the shogun Yoshimoto. His magic sword was drawn, and two other samurai followed behind him. “Surrender or die.”

“This is starting to feel too familiar.” Cana said.

“That’s Yoshimoto, the samurai general.” Levy said.

“That’s him? I thought he’d be taller.” Lucy said. The samurai lord turned his gaze toward her. “You mock me?” he said. He raised his sword. The tiger unleashed a frightening roar, causing the girls to cover their ears. At this point Virgo stepped forward. “I’ll deal with this.” Virgo said. She started to go underground again, but suddenly the earth around her liquified and erupted, and she was blown out of the ground , hitting a tree face first. She fell to the ground below.

“Virgo!” Lucy said.

“Nice try, little girl.” Another voice said. “But your part in this fight is over. Oh yeah!” A tall man emerged from the trees beside the samurai. He had a rather strange, blocky appearance, and orange hair. “You must be Fairy Tail. We were supposed to battle earlier on, but circumstances prevented that. But here we are, together at last! Oh yeah! And by the way, you can call me Hoteye.” The man said, introducing himself.

“He’s one of the Oracion Seis!” Lucy said.

“Those super powerful mages who can take on a whole guild? Great.” Cana said drily.

“I’m starting to think this was a bad idea.” Levy said. Hoteye stepped forward. “We just want the red-haired girl. That’s all.”

“She defied us, and others joined her. They’re all dead, and now she dies too.” Yoshimoto said.

“Well, we can’t go along with that.” Cana said in a low voice to her companions.

“Hey Levy, you said that samurai guy uses illusion magic, right? Do you think that big tiger is an illusion too?” Lucy said in an equally low voice. Levy looked uncertain. “Even if it is, can we really take them all on?” Levy replied. As she said this, the samurai soldiers she had knocked down were starting to get back up, and readying their weapons again. There were still about half a dozen of them, plus Yoshimoto and Hoteye and the possibly illusionary tiger. The girls weighed their options.

While this was going on, Yoshimoto and Hoteye were having a private talk of their own. After a moment, Hoteye spoke again. “Actually, we’ve decided we don’t just want the red head. We want all of you. Oh Yeah! If you surrender now and come quietly, we may forgive your past sins. Or maybe not! Its really not up to me.”

“Well, that sounds shitty.” Cana said.

“Got a plan, Cana?” Lucy asked.

“Actually, yeah. You two distract him with some spells. I’ll ‘talk’ to them.” She said. Cana took a step forward with her hands in the air. She was holding no cards. “Okay, look. We can work something out. Is there a leader we can talk to?” she said.

“I’m the only one you need to talk to.” Yoshimoto said. “Lay down your weapons, prepare to be bound, and come with us. You could be of some use.” Cana nodded. “Oh, okay. Cool.” At that point Levy used her script magic to create a boulder above Hoteye and Yoshimoto. It dropped, and Hoteye caught it, although it knocked him off balance. The various samurai immediately went into attack position. At the same time, Lucy summoned another spirit. It was Taurus the bull, who quickly charged at the enemy with his axe. Lucy didn’t expect Taurus to actually defeat them, but that wasn’t the point. Cana just asked for a distraction.

“What now Cana?” Lucy said. Cana turned to Lucy. “Now, we get the hell out!” Lucy blinked. “We– “

“Get the hell out of here, now!” Hoteye was currently using his liquid earth magic to incapacitate Taurus. Cana turned to run, and the others followed her lead.

“Wait, take me with you!” Flare shouted from behind. Lucy stopped. “We shouldn’t just leave her.” She said. Cana looked annoyed, but quickly ran over and grabbed Flare’s arm, pulling her along without any gentleness. “Don’t slow us down or we’ll leave you behind.” Cana said. All four girls began running back out of the forest.

“Why are you running? We just want to be your friends!” Hoteye said. Somehow, the Fairy mages were not convinced this was true. The girls ran as fast as they could, but not as fast as they would like. They weaved through the trees, heading back towards Magnolia. Cana, still holding on to Flare and pulling her along, said, “Hey fire girl, can you try to keep up?”

“Do you know how hard it is to run in the dirt in high heels?” Flare shouted from behind.

“Actually, yeah I do.” Cana responded. The edge of the city was within sight. But then, the ground behind them started to dissolve. “They found us?!” Lucy said.

“Just keep running. Faster!” Cana said. They ran as fast as they could, but the ground behind them continued to sink. As they got close to the road, the ground just ahead of them began to dissolve too. “No.” Lucy said. Levy cast a spell. It created a long sheet of metal along the ground, creating a bridge for them to run over. Hoteye’s magic didn’t work on metal. They ran across, and made it back into the town, and kept running.

“Where are we going?” Lucy said.

“Isn’t it obvious? Back to Fairy Tail.” Cana said.

“But what if they follow us there? We could be putting the guild in danger, and not to mention other people around.” Lucy replied.

“Hey Lucy? Not to sound like a selfish bitch, but I don’t want to die. If we have to fight these guys it would be better to do it with the guild backing us up. And those guys back there might call for backup too.” Lucy still felt uneasy about it, but she admitted Cana had a point.

Hoteye’s magic seemed to have stopped following them. But just in case, they still continued to run through the city, with confused onlookers observing them. Cana said she knew a short cut back to the guild, which they took. After a few more minutes of running, they made it back. They were out of breath by the time they got to the entrance of the guild hall.

“Alright. We… made it.” Cana panted.

“So, what now?” Flare said, with a blank look on her face. Cana narrowed her eyes at her, and said, “Good question.” Cana didn’t like the idea of bringing Flare back here. And now that they had, she was starting to worry that maybe this was what the enemy mages had wanted. Maybe she was in on it with them, and they would show up here at any moment. “We should head inside.” Cana said, still keeping a grip on Flare.

“Right.” Lucy said. “Agreed.” Levy said. They walked over to the front gate of the guild. In the shadows, there was a lone individual waiting for them near the door. They stopped.

“Oh no, what now?” Levy said. Cana let go of Flare to grab a card, momentarily forgetting that she was suspicious of Flare. For a second, they stood there. The silhouette stepped forward into the light, revealing himself.

“Mystogan!” Levy said. It was indeed Mystogan, his face covered by his mask.

“Hello Levy. And you are Lucy Heartfilia and Cana Alberona, though we’ve never formally met.” He said, addressing each of them.

“Uh, hi.” Lucy said. Mystogan looked at Flare, but said nothing. She tilted her head and stared back at him warily.

“Nice to meet you and all, but what are you doing coming out of the shadows at us? By the way, a bunch of those samurai guys just attacked us, so they may or may not show up soon.” Cana said. Mystogan nodded.

“Yes, the Shadow Kings. I’m glad you’re unharmed. I actually have some information about them. In fact, there are some important details that you’re all going to want to hear, immediately.”

“This is going to be a long night, isn’t it?” said Lucy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As stated previously, I like to do things in this story that you wouldn't see in canon. Which includes showing characters on an actual date with each other. I don't know if the explanations for Evergreen and Elfman's names is close to canon at all. Probably not. Its just something I came up with.
> 
> I referred to the restaurant as a "pasta restaurant" instead of an Italian restaurant, since the country of Italy doesn't exist in the fictional world of Fairy Tail. Which is the same reason I refer to Yoshimoto as being "from the east" instead of from Japan.
> 
> Okay, so, for people who might be interested in the whole sex scene between Lucy and Loke, here it is as a separate fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29343012
> 
> If you're not interested in that, ignore the link. Its there if anyone wants it. Fairies and Shadows will remain 'M' rated.


End file.
